The  Silk  Industry  in  America, 


A  HISTORY: 

PREPARED  FOR  THE  CENTENNIAL  EXPOSITION, 

BY 

L.    P.   BROCKETT,   M.  D. 


1876. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1876,  by 

THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


George  F.  Nesbitt  &  Co., 

PRINTERS, 
Cor.  Pearl  and  Pine  Sts.,  N.Y 


THE  GETTY  CENTFp 
LIBRARV 

i 


PREFACE. 


The  little  treatise  herewith  offered  to  the  public  can  make  but  slight 
pretension  to  original  thought,  or  literary  merit ;  though  its  preparation 
has  required  extensive  and  somewhat  protracted  research  in  fields  seldom 
explored  by  literary  men,  and  not  often  by  those  specially  interested  in 
the  silk  industry. 

The  writer  desires  to  acknowledge  his  deep  obligations  to  Franklin 
Allen,  Esq.,  the  Secretary  of  the  Silk  Association  of  America,  not  only 
for  placing  at  his  disposal  the  Association's  large  collection  of  works  on 
silk  and  silk  culture,  which  comprises  most  of  the  literature  of  the  sub- 
ject, but  in  a  still  higher  measure  for  his  free  permission  to  use  and  tran- 
scribe the  greater  part  of  his  "Chronological  Record  of  the  Silk  Industry 
in  America,"  prepared  'with  great  labor  for  the  forthcoming  volume  of 
the  U.  S.  Industrial  Directory ;  and  for  tables  of  statistics,  which  add 
greatly  to  the  permanent  value  of  this  volume.  Without  such  coopera- 
tion, the  production  of  this  work  would  have  been  impossible.  Grateful 
acknowledgments  are  also  due  to  A.  T.  Lilly,  Esq.,  the  author  of  a  history 
of  the  silk  industry  in  Connecticut;  John  Ryle,  Esq.,  of  Paterson.,  N.  J., 
and  other  manufacturers,  who  have  also  communicated  important  facts 
for  the  work. 

For  whatever  of  good  or  use  there  is  in  this  little  volume,  the  credit  is 
largely  due  to  these  kind  friends;  for  its  errors  and  shortcomings,  if  such 
there  be,  the  writer  must  alone  bear  the  responsibility;  but  the  burden 
will  be  lighter,  if  his  readers  will  do  him  the  justice  to  believe,  that  he 
has  sought,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  to  honor  American  Industry,  and  to 
set  forth  the  achievements  of  American  enterprise  and  perseverance. 

This  work  is  published  under  the  auspices  of  the  Silk  Association  of 
America.  The  privilege  of  its  sale  at  the  International  Exhibition  at 
Philadelphia,  has  been  accorded  by  A.  T.  Goshorn,  Esq.,  Director-Gen- 
eral of  the  U.  S.  Centennial  Commission. 

L.  P.  B. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  June,  1876. 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2015 

https://archive.org/details/silkindustryinamOObroc_0 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

Page. 

Introductory  Chapter,  - 

Chapter  I. — The  derivation  of  silk,         _____  g 

Chapter  II. —Early  production  of  silk  in  Asia,  Europe  and  Africa,  -  15 

Chapter  III. — Silk  culture  and  manufacture  in  Europe,        -        -  20 

Chapter  IV. — Early  production  of  silk  in  America,        -        -  -  26 

Chapter  V. — Efforts  to  revive  and  extend  silk  culture,  1780-1844,  35 

Chapter  VI. — The  Mortis  multicaulis  mania,       -       -        -  -  38 

Chapter  VII. — Workers  in  silk  culture,  1825  to  1844,        -        -  41 

Chapter  VIII. — Later  efforts  at  silk  culture,  -        -        -        -  -  46 

Chapter  IX. — Organized  silk  manufacture  in  America,        -        -  i;o 

Chapter  X. — The  rise  and  growth  of  South  Manchester,  Conn.,  -  60 

Chapter  XI. — Manufacturing  enterprises  started  between  1838 

and  1848,           _--_--  67 

Chapter  XII. — Manufacturing  enterprises  start-ed  between  1848 

and  1854,     -        -____  -  70 

Chapter  XIII. — Manufacturing  enterprises  started  between  1854 

and  1863,  -------  -j^ 

Chapter  XIV. — Manufacturing  enterprises  started  be-tween  1863 

and  1869,      -        -__-__  78 

Chapter  XV. — Manufacturing  enterprises  started  since  1869,       -  82 

Chapter  XVI. — Methods  of  manufacture  :  reeling,  throwing  and 

dyeing,-        ___-_-  _  87 

Chapter  XVII. — Weaving  narrow  and  broad  goods,  -        -        -  95 

Chapter  XVIII. — Manufacturing  silk  laces  and  spun  silk,        -  -  101 

Chapter  XIX. — The  Jacquard  weaving  apparatus,       -        -        -  105 
Chapter  XX. — Rise    and   growth    of  the    silk    manufacture  in 

Paterson,  N.  J.,     -        -        -        -        -  -  109 

Chapter  XXI. — Awards  to  silk  exhibitors,  prior  to  1876,  -        -  121 

Chapter  XXII. — The  present  and  the  future,        -        -        -  -128 

Appendix,    _--__----       -  133 


4 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT  OF  THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION 

OF  AMERICA. 

Page. 


Officers  of  the  Association,  1876-77,       -        -        -    •    -  -  139 

Committees  of  the  Association,  1876,  -        -        -   '     -  -        -  140 
Members  and  Subscribers,  1876,       ------  141 

Preamble  and  By-Laws,  April,  1876,    -        -        -        -  -        -  HS 

Proceedings  at  Fourth  Annual  Meeting,     -        ^        -        -  -  i^g 

Annual  Report  of  the  Secretary:         -        -        -        -  -  -153 

Silk  Statistics  for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1875,  as  follows: 

Value  of  Production,        -        -        -        -        -  "155 

General  View  of  the  Industry  in  America,      -  ^        -  156 

Division  B — Thrown  and  Spun  Silk,    -        -        -  -  ^S7 

"       C — Sewings  and  Machine  Twist,       -  ^       -  158 

**       D — Broad  Goods  and  Ribbons,      -        -  -  159 

"     Dyeing,   -        -        -        -        -  -        -  160 

E — Laces,  Braids  and  Trimmings,  -       -  ^  161 

Resume  of  Statistical  Tables,        -        -        -  -        -  162 

Number  of  Firms  in  Silk  Business,  April  26,  1876,      -  -  163 
Reports  of  the  Trade  for  the  past  year,  as  follows  : 

Raw  Silk,  by  William  Ryle,  -        -        -        -  -        -  164 

Thrown  Silk,  by  George  B.  Skinner  &  Co.,  -        -  -  168 

Spun  Silk,  by  Cheney  Brothers,      -        -        -  -        -  170 

Sewing  Silk  and  Machine  Twist,  by  Seavey,  Foster  & 

Bowman,  172 

Plain  and  Fancy  Broad  Silks,  by  Hamil  &  Booth,  -        -  173 

Ribbons,  by  William  Strange,    -        -        -        -  -  175 

The  Trimming  Trade,  by  Wm.  H.  Horstmann  &  Sons,  -  179 
Report  of  the  Secretary,  continued,  as  follows  : 

U.  S.  Customs  Tariff,       -       -       -        -        -  -  181 

Customs  Revenue  at  New  York,    -        -        -  -        -  183 

Charter  of  the  Association,        _        _       _       _  _  igg 

Resolutions  on  the  death  of  Ward  Cheney,      -  -        -  191 
Finances  of  the  Association,  ----- 

Amendment  to  the  By-Laws,         -     .   -        -  -        -  194 

Preparations  for  the  Centennial,  -        -       -       -  -  195 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA.  5 

Page. 

Annual  Report  of  the  Treasurer,     -           -        -        -        -  -197 

Imports  of  Raw  Silk,  and  accrued  duty  thereon,  1823  to  1842,  -  198 

1843  to  1875,  -  199 

Silk  Manufactures   "                            1821  to  1842,  -  200 

1843  to  1875,  -  201 


Compendium  of  U.  S.  Tariff  Acts  and   Rates  of  Duty  on  Silk 

Manufactures  since  1790,      ______  202 

Silk  Movement  throughout  the  World,  in  or  about  1874,        "        ~  203 

Silk  Conditioned  in  Europe,  by  countries  and  cities,  1869  to  1875,  204 

Production  of  Spun  Silk  in  Europe,  1873,     -----  206 

"  Raw  Silk  throughout  the  World,  -        -        -        -  206 

Annual  Statistical  Summaries  of  U.  S.  Imports  of  Raw  Silk  and 

Silk  Manufactures,  1851  to  1875,       -        -        -        _   207,  209 


American  Silk  Exhibitors  at  Philadelphia  : 

Exhibitors  and  Exhibits,        -           -  -           -              21 J 

Judges  of  Silk  Fabrics,  &c.,          -           -  -           -  214 

Rules  relating  to  Awards,       -           -  -           -  214 

Directory  of  Silk  Manufacture  in  the  U.  S.,  -           -  215 

Index  of  Names  in  this  Volume,            -  -           -  231 

Business  Announcements,       _           -           -  .           -  239 


Illustrations. 

Opposite  page. 

Silk  Worm,  Moth,  Eggs  and  Cocoon,        -           -           -           "  ^5 

Wm.  H.  Horstmann  &  Sons'  Mills,  Philadelphia,         -           -  51 

Mansfield  Silk  Company's  Mill,  Gurleyville,  Conn.,           -           -  53 

New  York  and  Northampton  Silk  Company's  Mill,  Florence,  Mass.,  54 

Nonotuck  Silk  Company's  Mills,  Florence,  Mass.,  -  -  -  57 
O.  S.  Chaffee  &  Son's  Mills,  Mansfield  Centre  and  Willimantic, 

Conn.,           -           -           -           -           -           -           -  58 


I 


6  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Opposite  page. 

Phoenix  Silk  Manufacturing  Company's  Mills,  Paterson,  N.  J.,  -  59 
Seavey,  Foster  &  Bowman's  Silk  Mills,  Canton,  Mass.,        -  "67 

Unquomonk  Silk  Mills  of  Wm.  Skinner,  Holyoke,  Mass.,          -  70 

M.  Heminway  &  Sons'  Silk  Mill,  Watertown,  Conn.,        -           -  71 

J.  C.  Graham's  Silk  Factory,  Philadelphia,        -           -           -  72 

Hensel,  Colladay  &  Co.'s  Silk  Factory,  Philadelphia,          -           -  73 

L.  D.  Brown  &  Son's  Silk  Mill,  Middletown,  Conn.,    -           -  74 

Belding  Bros.  &  Co.'s  Silk  Mill,  Rockville,  Conn.,  -           -           -  77 

Herman  Simon's  Silk  Mill,  Town  of  Union,  N.  J.,       -           -  78 

Werner  Itschner  &  Co.'s  Mills,  Tioga  Station,  Germantown,  Pa.,   -  78 

John  N.  Stearns  &  Co.'s  Silk  Factory,  New  York  City,  -           -  79 

Holland  Manufacturing  Co.'s  Silk  Mill,  Willimantic,  Conn.,           -  80 

Union  Silk  Works  of  John  Dunlop,  Paterson,  N.  J.,     -           -  80 

Excelsior  Manufacturing  Co.,  John  D.  Cutter  &  Co.,  Paterson,  N.  J.,  8  1 

Pelgram  &  Meyer's  Silk  Mills,  Paterson,  N.  J.,  -  -  83 
Silk  Reel  Mill  and  Silk  Spinning  Frame,  Exhibited  at  Philadelphia 

by  the  Danforth  Locomotive  and  Machine  Co.  of  Paterson,  N.  J.,  91 

Nottingham  Lace  Works,  A.G.Jennings,  Proprietor,  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  101 

The  Jacquard  Machine,           -           -           -           -           -  108 

Dale  Silk  Mill,  Paterson,  N.  J.,     -           -           -           -           -  116 

Weidmann  &  Greppo,  Dye  Works,  Paterson,  N.  J.,     -           -  117 

Louis  Franke's  Braiding  Works  and  Throwing  Mill,  Paterson,  N.  J.,  118 
Earnshaw  Needle  Loom,  Sam'l  Coit,  Hartford,  Conn.,  Advertising  Page,  v 

S.  R.  &  F.  Hansen's  Factory,  Philadelphia,     -               do        do  xiv 

Machinists'  Association,  Paterson,  N.  J.,    -           -        do        do  xiv 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER. 


When  our  mother  Eve  draped  herself  in  the  broad  leaves  of  the 
banian  fig,  just  before  leaving  Paradise,  and  when  just  after  the  expulsion 
from  that  pleasant  abode,  the  fallen  pair  were  clothed  in  "  coats  of  skin," 
their  rude  garments  were,  all  unconsciously  to  themselves,  the  types  of  the 
textile  fabrics  which  were  to  form  the  raiment  of  their  descendants  for  all 
coming  time.  The  leaf  of  the  banian  fig,  with  its  soft  and  silky  fibres, 
was  the  food  of  several  species  of  silk-worm,  and  the  source  from  whence 
was  obtained  the  material  for  those  delicate  filaments  which  constitute 
our  silken  tissues ;  it  was  also  the  type  of  those  other  vegetable  fibres, 
which  have  furnished  so  large  a  portion  of  the  clothing  of  the  world  ; 
while  the  skins  of  animals  slain  for  propitiatory  sacrifice  were  the  pro- 
totyes  of  the  karosses,  haiks,  and  other  garments  of  sheepskin,  fur,  or 
wool,  goat's  hair  and  camel's  hair. 

The  progress  of  civilization  at  every  stage  has  been  marked  by  some 
improvement  in  the  fabrics  which  constituted  the  clothing  and  drapery  of 
the  human  body.  The  skins,  fur,  wool  and  hair  of  animals  were  early 
laid  under  contribution  for  this  purpose,  and  in  the  warmer  climates,  the 
fibres  of  flax,  grass,  cotton,  the  inner  bark  of  trees,  and  somewhat  later 
the  exquisite  and  glossy  filaments  spun  by  the  silk-worm  were  appro- 
priated for  the  same  purpose.  It  was  not  until  a  comparatively  high  state 
of  civilization  had  been  attained,  that  the  art  of  spinning  and  weaving 
these  into  fabrics  of  wonderful  beauty  and  grace  was  discovered,  and  every 
step  of  subsequent  progress  in  the  fabrication  and  ornamentation  of  silken 
tissues  has  marked  a  stage  of  aesthetic  culture  and  advancement. 

It  is  our  object  to  trace  briefly  the  history  of  this  progress  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  what  has  been  throughout  all  the  past  an  article  of  luxury, 
and  which  so  lately  as  the  third  century  of  our  own  era  commanded  a  price 
so  great  as  to  be  beyond  an  emperor's  wealth  to  purchase  for  his  empress  ; 
but  in  our  own  time  has  come  to  be  within  the  means  and  ability  of 
the  great  masses  of  our  people,  and  a  necessity  instead  of  a  luxury.  We 
do  not  propose  to  make  this  history  exhaustive — many  volumes  would  be 
required  for  that  purpose — but  only  to  review  briefly  the  course  of  the  silk 
manufacture  in  other  lands  and  countries,  and  somewhat  more  fully  the 
struggles  of  our  own  people  to  attain  to  the  position  which  they  now  hold 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


of  competing  on  fair  and  equal  terms  with  the  manufacturers  of  the  Old 
World. 

We  deem  the  hundreth  year  of  our  national  existence,  and  this  Centen- 
nial Exposition  in  which  we  place  the  products  of  our  own  looms, 
spindles,  and  forges  by  the  side  of  those  of  all  the  nations  of  the  world, 
a  fitting  time  and  place  to  record,  with  proper  modesty  and  in  no  boastful 
spirit,  the  efforts  through  which  we  have  attained  our  present  measure 
of  excellence,  and  tcf  indicate  to  those  who  may  come  after  us  that  it 
is  by  continuous  effort  and  toil  alone  that  further  honors  can  be  gained.  It 
is  alone,  as  the  old  Latin  poet  has  well  said,  "  by  rough  ways  that  we  can 
reach  the  stars." 


SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


I. 

TJlc  Derivation  of  Silk. 

ARDNER,  and  some  other  philological  writers, 
tells  us  that  Se^  or,  as  it  was  corruptly  pro- 
nounced, Scr,  was  the  original  name  of  silk  in 
Eastern  Asia  ;  and  that  hence,  the  people  who 
first  produced  silk  were  called  Seres ;  whence, 
after  the  silk  fabrics  became  known  to  the 
Greeks,  came  the  Greek  word  serikon^  and  the 
Latin  sericum^  and  by  the  substitution  m  the 
languages  of  Western  Europe  of  /  for  r — a  very  common,  and 
almost  universal  practice — sericum  became  seliettm,  selic^  and  at 
last  silk.  This  is  very  plausible  and  possible  ;  but  it  seems  to 
us  more  probable,  that  the  se  or  ser,  has  been  reduced  by 
analysis  from  seres^  than  that  there  should  have  been  any 
authentic  evidence  of  its  previous  existence.  The  name 
given  to  the  original  silk  producers — Seres — was  not  one 
which  they  ever  recognized,  but  one  applied  to  them  by 
the  Greeks,  Syrians,^  or  Persians.  A  more  probable  origin  of 
the  word  seems  to  be,  that,  as  from  the  earliest  times,  that 
portion  of  Eastern  Asia  which  now  constitutes  Chinese  Tar- 
tary,  and  China  was  called  Sinim  (only  receiving  the  name  of 
China,  or  Cheen,"  from  a  military  tribe  or  caste  called 
Chinas,  or  Cheenos^  who  penetrated  thither  from  India,  after 
the  death  of  Gautama  Buddha,  and  introduced  Buddhism 
there) — and  the  inhabitants,  Sijierim  ;  and,  as  these  were  the 
earliest  silk  producers,  the  Greeks  formed  the  adjective  and 
noun  expressive  of  this  fact,  from  their  names,  thus,  Sin- 
erikos — Sinerikon,  which,  in  time,  would  be  abridged  to  Serikos 
and  Serikon.  Yet  some  doubt  is  thrown  on  this  derivation  by 
the  uncertainty  whether  the  name  applied  to  the  people 
was  Sijiim  or  Sineriin ;  the  later  Latin  names,  Since  and 
Si?iensis,  would  seem  to  favor  Sinim.  The  subsequent  trans- 
formation into  selicum^  selic  and  silk,  is  matter  of  undoubted 
history. 


1 


lO 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Aristotle,  as  the  result  of  the  observations  of  some  of  the 
more  intelligent  of  the  scholars  who  accompanied  Alexander 
the  Great  in  his  expedition  to  India,  gave  a  tolerably  accurate 
description  of  the  silk-worm,  speaking  of  it  as  a  horned  insect, 
which  passed  through  successive  transformations,  and  pro- 
duced boinbykia,^  Pliny,  nearly  lour  hundred  years  later,  was 
acquainted  with  the  silk-worm,  which  he  described  ;  but  knew 
nothing  of  its  connection  v/ith  the  production  of  silk,  which, 
he  affirmed,  was  a  woolly  substance,  combed  from  the  leaves 
of  trees,  and  spun  to  form  the  threads  used  in  making  silk  by 
the  Seres.  For  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  years  after  silk 
fabrics  had  become  known  in  Western  Asia  and  Eastern 
Europe,  the  prevalent  opinion  was,  that  it  was  either  a  fleece 
which  grew  upon  a  tree  (thus  confounding  it  with  cotton), 
or  the  fibre  obtained  from  the  inner  bark  of  some  tree  or  shrub ; 
while  some,  deceived  by  the  glossy  and  silky  fibres  of  the 
seed  vessels  of  the  Asclepias  Syriaca  (our  milk  or  silk  weed),<, 
and  the  still  longer  and  more  beautiful  product  of  the  silk- 
cotton  tree  {Bombax),  believed  that  it  was  the  product  of 
some  plant  or  flower  of  the  Asclepias  or  Bombax  family.  A 
lew  had  come  so  near  the  truth,  as  to  conjecture  that  it  was 
spun  by  a  spider  or  beetle.  So  carefully  did  the  Orientals 
keep  their  secret,  that  it  was  not  exposed  until  the  sixth 
century  alter  Christ,  when  two  Nestorian  monks,  who  had 
been  engaged  in  missionary  labors  in  China,  solved  the  mys- 
tery, by  bringing  to  Constantinople  a  small  quantity  of  silk- 
Avorm  eggs,  concealed  in  the  hollow  of  their  palmer  staves. 
This  knowledge,  thus  made  public,  soon  spread  over  the 
world,  and  though  the  vast  production  of  silk  by  the  Chinese 
was  not  diminished,  that  of  Europe  and  W estern  Asia  was 
greatly  developed  in  the  centuries  that  followed. 

The  nature  of  silk  may  here  be  stated.  It  is  a  liquid,  gummy 
substance  secreted  by  certain  insects,  from  their  food,  at  differ- 
ent stages  of"  their  growth  ;  it  is  contained  in  cells  or  tubes  on 
each  side  of  their  bodies,  and,  at  their  volition,  is  drawn  out 
through  the  minute  orifices  of  the  organs  called  spinnerets. 
From  two  to  six  of  these  threads  being  united  as  they  are  drawn 
out,  they  harden  and  strengthen  to  form  a  fine  but  remarkably 

^  See  note,  page  12. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


II 


strong  thread.  This  thread  is  used  by  the  insects  themselves 
for  a  variety  of  purposes  ;  the  spiders,  of  which  one  large  family 
are  spinners,  use  their  threads  as  a  means  of  locomotion,  and  in 
the  formation  of  a  trap  for  catching  their  prey,  themselves  re- 
maining concealed  in  a  little  chamber  of  silk  at  the  centre,  or 
at  one  angle  of  their  web  ;  and  some  species  also  spin  a  little 
cocoon  or  egg-case  to  protect  their  eggs  from  injury.  Of  the 
caterpillars,  some,  like  the  tent-caterpillar,  spin  extensive  and 
closely-woven  nets  or  tents,  from  the  fibres  of  the  leaves  they 
have  devoured,  and,  drawing  these  partly  round  them  as  a 
protection,  pass  into  the  chrysalis  state  ;  others,  like  the  meas- 
uring worm,  use  the  threads  they  have  spun  almost  entirely 
for  the  purpose  of  locomotion  ;  while  the  larvas  of  the  Bomby- 
cidcE,  or  silk-worm  family,  and  of  some  others,  do  not  attempt 
to  spin  until  they  are  ready  to  pass  into  the  chrysalis  condi- 
tion, and  then  enshroud  themselves  in  a  silken  cocoon  of  their 
own  spinning.  In  all  these  cases  the  product  is  the  same  ; 
viz.,  silk,  but  silk  which  requires  to  be  reeled  or  carded,  spun, 
doubled  and  redoubled,  cleaned,  twisted,  and  otherwise  mani- 
pulated, before  it  is  fit  for  use. 

The  number  of  larval  and  perfect  insects  that  produce  silk 
is  very  large ;  it  includes  many  genera,  and  probably  not  less 
than  a  hundred  species  of  the  spider  family ;,  a  considerable 
number  of  spinning  caterpillars  whose  tents,  webs,  or  threads 
are  not  of  practical  value,  though  they  may  consist  of  a  fine 
quality  of  silk*,  and  lastly,  the  larvae  or  caterpillars  of  ten  or 
twelve  genera,  and  not  less  than  fifty  species  of  the  family 
BonibycidcB,  all  of  which  spin  silk  cocoons.  Yet  of  these  200  or 
more  species  of  insects,  comparatively  few  are  of  service 
to  mankind.  The  spider  family,  though  producing  silk 
of  the  most  exquisite  quality,  which  has  repeatedly  been  used 
for  making  small  articles  of  silk,  must  be  rejected  from  the 
list  of  practical  workers,  on  account  of  the  uncertainty  of  their 
tempers,  the  small  amount  of  their  product,  and  the  imprac- 
ticability of  mamtainmg  a  continuous  industry  on  the  part  of 
the  insects  for  a  sufficient  time  to  draw  forth  their  supply."^  It 

*  Prof.  Burt  G.  Wilder  has  made  many  experiments  with  several  species  of  these  spiders,  and 
was  so  far  successful  with  the  nephila  plumipes,  one  the  most  p'-omising  of  the  family,  as  to 
obtain  a  sufficient  quantity  of  silk  to  manufacture  a  number  of  small  articles;  but  his  experi- 
ments give  no  good  reason  for  hoping  that  spiders'  silk  can  be  used  on  jmi  extensive  ssale. 


12 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


would  be  well  if  the  tent-caterpillars  and  measuring  worms 
could  be  put  to  some  use ;  but  there  seems  to  be  no  hope  of 
it ;  and  they  are  now  a  nuisance  which  is  being-  abated  by  the 
sparrows,  which,  in  their  turn,  may  require  to  be  abated. 
Even  among  the  Bambycidce,^  all  of  which  produce  silk  cocoons, 
there  are  not  more  than  four  genera  and  fourteen  or  fifteen 
species  whose  cocoons  are  available  for  commercial  purposes. 
Some  make  a  cocoon  which  cannot  be  reeled;  some  make 
soft  and  dark-colored  cocoons ;  some  feed  in  their  wild  state 
upon  the  leaves  of  trees  which  make  their  silk  of  inferior 
quality ;  while  some  will  not  thrive  under  culture.  The  best 
silk-worms  are  those  of  the  genus  Bonibyx,  most  of  which  feed, 
in  preference,  on  the  leaves  of  the  white  mulberry  {inorus  albci)^ 
though  some  of  them  may  be  reared  on  the  leaves  of  other 
species  of  the  mulberry,  as  the  miilticaulis^  M,  morettiana, 
and  to  a  smaller  extent  M.  nigra,  the  common  black  or  American 
mulberry.  One  or  two  species  of  BombyXj  as  well  as  some  of 
the  other  genera,  feed  on  the  leaves  of  the  ailantus,  and  of  the 
castor-oil  plant  {Ricinus  coimmmis),  but  these  make  an  inferior 
quality  of  silk;  and  some  of  those  whose  cocoons  are  not 
used,  eat  of  the  leaves  of  the  oak,  weeping  willow,  osier, 
kilmarnock  willow,  and  peepul,  mango,  &c. 

The  Tussah  or  Tussur  Moth,  from  whose  egg  comes  the 
Tussah  caterpillar,  is  a  wild  genus,  of  which  there  are  seven 
or  eight  species,  2isA?ithcera paphia,  &c.  It  inhabits  the  jungles 
of  India,  Burmah,  and  Assam,  feeding  on  the  jujube,  the  silk- 
cotton  tree  and  the  Indian  almond;  and  its  cocoons,  which 
are  with  difficulty  reeled,  are  of  the  color  of  the  bark  of  the 
trees  to  which  they  are  attached,  and  are  not  readily  discovered. 
The  Anthcera  Assama,  or  moonga,  an  Assamese  moth,  which 
feeds  upon  the  mango  as  well  as  the  mulberry,  and  whose 
larva  produces  a  large,  fine,  and  easily  reeled  cocoon,  though 
not  of  very  light  color,  is  perhaps  the  best  of  the  wild  varieties. 
ThcAttacus  cynthia,  better  known  as  the  "  Eria,'*  or  Arrindy" 
silk-worm,  feeds  on  the  Palma  Christi,  or  castor-oil  plant,  and 
is  now  found  in  Nepaul,  Mussooree,  Java,  and  to  some  extent 

*  Bombykia^  (Greek  Bombuktd)  from  Bombux  (Bombyx)  a  caterpillar,  the  name  since  re- 
stricted to  the  genus  of  silk-worms  best  known,  and  its  derivative  Bombycida  to  the  whole 
silk-worm  family. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


13 


in  Southern  Europe.  Its  silk  is  of  fair  quality,  but  is  not 
easily  reeled,  and  is  used  for  carding  and  spinning-.  The  silk 
manufactured  from  these  cocoons  is  coarse,  but  very  durable. 
The  silk-worms  of  China  and  Japan  are  mostly  of  the  genus 
Bombyx,  as  are  the  greater  part  of  those  produced  in  Southern 
Europe  and  Asia.  Reared  in  different  climates,  they  assume 
different  colors,  and  vary  considerably  in  size.  The  most  of 
the  Japanese  cocoons  are  of  a  pale  green  color,  those  of  China 
usually  white  or  yellow,  varying  from  a  pure  white  to  a  pale 
lemon  color.  The  French,  Italian  and  Spanish  cocoons  are  of 
a  white  or  yellow  color,  or  occasionally  tinged  with  a  pale 
green.  Those  of  Broussa  and  Adrianople — the  best  silk  dis- 
tricts of  Turkey — are  a  pure  white. 

The  Asiatic  cocoons  and  some  of  the  European  differ  in 
another  respect.  The  best  breeds  of  silk-worms  go  through 
their  changes  but  once  a  year.  They  yield  large  cocoons, 
and  are  less  troublesome  to  the  silk  grower ;  but  there  are 
breeds,  apparently  of  the  same  species,  certainly  of  the  same 
genus,  which  go  through  these  changes  two,  three,  four,  or 
even  eight  times  a  year,  and  of  course  yield  as  many  crops  of 
cocoons.  These  are  called  polyvoltines,  and  are  subdivided 
into  bivoltines,  yielding  two  crops  of  cocoons  yearly ;  tri- 
voltines,  three  crops,  &c.  The  silk-worm  yielding  eight 
crops  is  found  in  Bengal,  and  is  there  called  dacey. 

The  changes  which  the  silk-worm  undergoes  are  those  which 
are  common  to  all  caterpillars  of  lepidopterous  insects.  The 
moth,  miller,  or  perfect  insect,  which,  after  a  longer  or  shorter 
time,  according  to  the  genus,  the  climate  and  the  temperature, 
works  its  way  out  of  the  cocoon,  has  but  a  brief  life,  not  ex- 
ceeding a  week  in  any  case,  and  usually  of  only  two  or  three 
days.  In  this  time,  the  female  moth  lays  about  400  or  500 
eggs,  whitish  or  yellowish,  and  about  the  size  of  a  mustard 
seed.  These  usually,  though  not  always,  adhere  by  a  gum 
analogous  to  silk,  to  the  leaves,  paper,  or  other  surface  on 
which  they  are  laid.  In  the  annual  varieties  they  may  be 
kept  without  hatching,  in  a  cool  place,  for  seven  or  eight 
months,  and  may  even  make  the  circuit  of  the  globe.  When 
their  food  is  ready  for  them  they  are  hatched,  and  at  first  the 


14 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


worm  does  not  exceed  one-twelfth  of  an  inch  in  length.  Under 
favorable  circumstances  of  food,  warmth,  &c.,  they  go  through 
their  various  changes  in  from  20  to  56  days,  moulting  or  cast- 
ing their  skin  four  times.  When  they  have  attained  their 
full  growth,  they  are  about  three  inches  in  length,  and  have 
increased  in  weight  from  y^-g-  of  a  grain  to  80  or  90  grains.  At 
this  time  they  seek  a  place  to  spin  their  cocoons,  which  are 
generally  finished  in  from  three  to  six  days.  In  the  cocoon 
they  assume  the  chrysalis  condition ;  and,  in  a  period  vary- 
ing from  twenty  to  forty  days,  the  perfect  insect  emerges 
from  the  cocoon  to  pursue  the  same  round  again.  The  en- 
graving exhibits  the  perfect  insect,  or  moth,  the  eggs,  the 
silk-worm,  the  chrysahs,  and  the  cocoons  of  different  forms. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


15 


11. 

Eai'ly  ProdiLctioji  of  Silk  in  Asia,  Etirope 
and  Africa. 

F  we  can  place  any  dependence  upon  Chinese 
records,  silk,  m  point  of  time,  stands  about  mid- 
way among  textile  fabrics:  wool  and  flax,  or 
linen,  having  preceded  it;  while  cotton,  hemp, 
and  other  fibrous  plants,  and  paper,  followed 
it  somewhat  closely.  The  exact  date  when  its 
use  was  first  discovered  is  uncertain.  The 
Chinese  in  their  records  claim  that  it  was  about 
2,700  years  B.  C,  and  point  to  the  calculations  of  eclipses, 
made  by  Jesuit  missionaries  for  the  emperors,  and  fitted  to 
each  event,  as  their  proof.  But  the  record  of  the  length 
of  the  reign  of  the  early  emperors,  and  the  incidents 
which  occurred  during  their  reigns,  offer  a  much  safer  means 
of  calculation.  From  these  we  deduce  the  conclusion  that 
Hoang-ti,  the  third  of  the  Chinese  emperors,  and  the  first  of 
silk  culturists,  must  have  been  the  contemporary  of  Joseph, 
the  son  of  Jacob,  and  have  commenced  his  reign  about  1703 
B.  C.  This  would  give  to  China  almost  3,600  years  of  silk 
culture  and  production. 

The  Chinese  legend  is  as  follows:""  "This  great  prince, 
Hoang-ti,  was  desirous  that  Si-ling-chi,  his  legitimate  wife, 
should  contribute  to  the  happiness  of  his  people.  He  charged 
her  to  examine  the  silk-worms,  and  to  test  the  practicability 
of  using  the  thread.  Si-ling-chi  had  a  large  quantity  of  these 
insects  collected,  which  she  fed  herself,  in  a  place  prepared 
solely  for  that  purpose,  and  discovered  not  only  the  means  of 
raising  them,  but  also  the  manner  of  reeling  the  silk,  and  of 
employing  it  to  make  garments."  .  .  .  .  "  It  is  through 
gratitude  for  so  great  a  benefit  that  posterity  has  deified  Si- 
ling-chi,  and  rendered  her  particular  honors  under  the  name 

^  From  the  "  Summary  of  the  principal  Chinese  Treatises  upon  the  Culture  of  the 
Mulberry  and  the  rearing  of  Silk-Worms,"  compiled  and  translated  from  M.  Stanislas 
Julien's  French  edition  of  the  Chinese  Treatises.    Washington,  D.  C,  1838. 


i6 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA 


of  'The  Goddess  of  Silk-Worms.'  To  the  present  time,  it 
is  said,  that  the  empresses  of  China,  on  a  certain  day  of  the 
year,  go  through  the  ceremon}^  of  feeding  the  silk-worms, 
and  rendermg  homage  to  Si-Ung-chi,  as  *  Goddess  of  Silk- 
Worms.'  "  It  would  seem  from  this  legend  that  there  were 
forests  of  the  mulberry,  or  some  other  tree,  which  furnished 
food  for  silk-worms,  and  that  the  worms  themselves  existed 
in  great  numbers  in  a  wild  state,  and  attached  their  cocoons 
to  the  trees.  Perhaps  the  fact  of  cocoons  being  composed  of 
sijken  threads  had  already  been  discovered,  since  Hoang-ti 
directed  Si-ling-chi — not  to  examine  the  cocoons  and  ascertain 
their  structure — but  "  to  test  the  practicability  of  using  the 
thread."  Yet  all  honor  is  due  to  this  Chinese  empress,  whose 
quick  eye  discovered  the  possibility  of  reeling  the  silk,  and 
who  not  only  fed  the  worms  with  her  own  hands,  but  herself 
led  the  way  to  reeling,  doubling,  twisting,  and  preparing 
the  silk  to  be  made  into  garments.  Silk  production  extended 
at  a  very  early  period  to  the  adjacent  nations.  In  China,  siik 
culture  was  mainly  successful  between  the  parallels  of  23°  and 
42°  North  latitude.  Among  the  agricultural  Tartar  tribes, 
in  the  lower  part  of  what  has  been  known  in  our  times  as 
Chinese  and  Independent  Tartary,  large  quantities  of  silk 
were  made  for  several  centuries  before  the  Christian  era ;  and 
some  writers,  after  careful  investigation,  though  on  perhaps 
insufficient  grounds,  contend  that  the  country  of  the  Seres,  or 
silk  producers  known  to  Persian,  Scythian,  Egyptian  and 
Greek  adventurers,  was  Bucharia,  or  Bokhara.  •  However 
this  may  be,  the  Tartar  caravans  carried  loads  of  silk  which 
were  sold  to  the  Persian  and  Arabian  merchants.  The  greatest 
expansion  of  the  silk  culture  and  manufacture  was  eastward, 
southward,  and  eventually  southwestAvard.  Whether  the 
original  inhabitants  of  Japan  attempted  the  culture  of  silk,  is 
uncertain ;  but  the  race  now  dominant  there,  who  have  occu- 
pied the  country  since  the  seventh  century  before  Christ, 
very  early  engaged  in  silk  production,  and  it  has  been  ever 
since  one  of  their  principal  industries. 

In  Annam,  Cochin  China,  and  Cambodia,  especially  the 
more  mountainous  part,  as  well  as  in  Pegu,  Burmah  and 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA.  17 

Northern  India,  which  abounded  in  wild  species  of  the  silk- 
worm, the  production  of  silk  became  a  recognized  employ- 
ment centuries  before  the  Christian  era.  The  India  silk  has 
always  been  of  poorer  quality  than  that  from  China ;  but  has 
had  a  recognized  and  peculiar  character  which  adapted  it  to 
certam  uses. 

It  is  often  said,  by  writers  on  silk,  that  it  is  only  mentioned 
in  the  Scriptures  in  Revelations,  xviii.  10,  among  the  luxurious 
merchandise  of  mystic  Babylon,  and  that  the  two  instances,  in 
which  our  translators  have  rendered  the  Hebrew  words  by 
our  word,  silk,  in  the  Old  Testament,  are  cases  of  incorrect 
translation.  The  two  passages  are,  Prov.  xxxi.  22,  where  our 
English  version  reads :  Her  clothing  is  silk  and  purple."  The 
word  used  is  elsewhere  translated  "fine  linen."  Ezek.  xvi.  10 
and  13:  "I  girded  thee  about  with  fine  linen,  and  I  covered 
thee  with  silk,"  ..."  and  thy  raiment  was  of  fine  hnen, 
and  silk  and  broidered  work."  ^This  is  supposed  by  some  to 
refer  to  garments  wrought  of  camel's  hair,  or  other  animal 
fibre ;  but  there  is  certainly  no  impossibility  that  it  refers  to 
silk,  as  the  Hebrew  word,  nicsJii,  comes  from  a  root  signifying 
to  draw  out,"  as  the  silken  threads  are  drawn  from  the 
cocoon.  It  has  been  urged  that  silk  was  not  known  in  Europe 
till  the  time  of  Aristotle,  in  the  fourth  century  before  Christ, 
and  that,  as  he  was  the  first  Greek  writer  who  mentioned  silk, 
it  was  impossible  that  Ezekiel,  two  hundred  years  earlier, 
should  have  any  knowledge  of  it.  Such  reasoning  is,  however, 
fallacious.  Many  arguments  might  be  brought  against  it. 
Obviously,  the  commerce  of  Syria  and  Palestine  with  the  far 
East  long  preceded  the  age  of  Aristotle,  whether  we  consider 
the  maritime  trade  recorded  during  Solomon's  reign,  or  the 
overland  traffic  for  nearly  a  thousand  years  before  Christ,  by 
means  of  caravans,  between  Persia,  China,  and  the  countries 
intervening. 

Before  the  time  of  Aristotle,  according  to  Theophanes  and 
Zenaras,  the  raw  silk  had  been  imported  into  Persia,  Tyre, 
Berytus  (the  modern  Beirut),  and  perhaps  also  into  some  of 
the  cities  of  the  Grecian  Archipelago,  where  it  was  manufac- 
tured into  garments  and  robes  for  kings  and  princes.    In  Cos 


I8  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

(not  Ceos,  as  Chateaubriand  states) — according  to  Aristotle, 
followed  bj  TibuUus,  Horace  and  others — ^the  nymph  Pamphila, 
procuring  the  silk  fabrics  from  the  East,  unravelled  them,  and^ 
by  sphtting  or  separating  the  filaments  of  the  thread  and 
spinning  them  anew,  wove  them  into  a  transparent  gauze  so 
fine  and  thin  that  it  was  named  woven  wind.  The  production 
of  this  silken  gauze  was  continued  at  Cos  for  several  centuries. 
As  we  have  said,  the  Oriental  nations  kept  the  process  of 
producing  the  silk  a  close  secret  for  many  centuries,  and 
hence  the  cities  of  Greece  and  Syria,  which  imported  the 
raw  silk,  were  compelled  to  pay  so  high  a  price  for  it  that 
their  silk  fabrics  were  sold  ounce  for  ounce  for  their  weight 
in  gold.  They  were  in  demand  in  Rome,  even  at  this 
price,  by  the  wealthy ;  but  the  Emperor  Tiberius  prohibited 
their  being  worn  by  men,  declaring  that  it  was  a  mark  of 
effeminacy,  and  the  Roman  satirists  inveighed  against  the 
wearing  of  the  transparent  tissues  of  Cos  by  either  sex,  on 
the  ground  of  indecency.  In  A.  D.  222,  the  profligate 
Heliogabalus  scandalized  his  people  by  appearing  in  a  garment 
made  wholly  of  silk.  In  A.  D.  273,  the  Emperor  Aurelian 
refused  to  procure  his  empress  a  silk  robe  on  the  grounds  of 
its  enormous  expense,  and  the  bad  example  of  such  reckless 
extravagance. 

But  even  these  high  prices  were  liable  to  be  greatly  in- 
creased by  any  interruption  to  the  carrying  trade,  since  no 
one  in  the  Roman  Empire  knew  how  to  produce  silk.  The 
Emperor  Justinian  found  this  to  his  cost,  when,  between  A.  D. 
529  and  549,  a  war  occurred  with  the  Persians,  who  had  for 
several  centuries  been  the  principal  carriers  of  raw  silk 
between  the  Chinese  and  the  cities  of  Greece,  Rome  and 
Egypt.  Two  of  the  Arabian  princes  offered  to  supply  his 
demand,  but  failed  completely,  and  Justinian  placed  a  pro- 
hibitory duty  on  the  importations  through  the  Phoenician 
manufacturers.  The  traffic  in  silk  throughout  the  Roman 
Empire  was,  for  the  time,  at  an  end.  The  Emperor  had, 
about  this  time,  manifested  his  decided  sympathy  for  the 
Nestorians,  whom  his  predecessors  had  opposed  and  perse- 
cuted ;  and  it  was  perhaps  in  gratitude  for  this  sympathy  that 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA.  I9 

two  Nestorian  monks,  who  had  been  for  some  years  mission- 
aries in  China,  where  the  Nestorians  had  a  most  numerous 
following,  came  at  the  peril  of  their  lives  across  the  Asiatic 
continent,  and  presenting-  themselves  before  the  Emperor, 
in  A.  D.  555,  showed  him  a  quantity  of  silk-worm  eggs 
which  they  had  brought,  concealed  in  the  hollow  of  their 
palmer's  or  pilgrim  staves,  from  China ;  and  revealed  to  him 
the  entire  process  of  silk  culture  which  they  had  carefully 
observed. 


20  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

IIL 

Silk  Culture  and  tJie  Manufacture  of  Silk 
in  Europe. 

USTINIAN  gave  the  control  of  the  silk  indus- 
try, thus  newly  estabhshed,  to  his  own  treas- 
urer. The  Nestorian  monks  were  charged  with 
the  direction  of  the  silk  culture ;  and  weavers^ 
brought  from  Tyre  and  Berytus,  were  employed 
to  manufacture  the  silks  ;  the  whole  produc- 
tion being  a  close  monopoly,  and  the  Emperor 
fixing  its  prices.  Under  this  management  the 
cost  of  silks  became  eight  times  as  great  as  before,  and  the 
royal  purple  was  twenty-four  times  its  former  price.  The 
imperial  treasury  was  soon  filled  by  this  management;  but 
Justinian  died  in  565,  and  at  his  death  the  monopoly  ceased. 
All  over  what  is  now  European  Turkey,  as  well  as  in  Asia 
Minor,  the  culture  of  the  mulberry  and  the  rearing  of  silk- 
worms became  a  favorite  employment.  While  the  looms  of 
Byzantium  or  Constantinople,  and  those  of  Athens,  Thebes, 
Corinth  and  the  Peloponnesus,  consumed  the  greater  part  of 
the  silk  which  was  raised,  the  importation  from  China  became 
smaller  and  smaller.  In  877,  the  rebel  chief  Baichu  captured 
Canfu,  the  centre  of  the  Chinese  foreign  silk  trade,  put  to 
death  all  its  inhabitants,  among  whom  were  1 20,000  merchants, 
destroyed  all  the  mulberry  trees  and  silk-worms  of  the  region, 
and  put  heavy  and  cruel  exactions  on  all  foreign  trade,  anni- 
hilating for  more  than  sixty  years  the  foreign  commerce  of 
China.  But  the  silk  production  was  then  so  well  established 
in  Western  Asia  and  Eastern  Europe,  that  this  wholesale  de- 
struction hardly  affected  the  price  of  silks  in  the  civilized 
world.  The  Byzantine  manufacturers  of  silk  were  accustomed 
to  adorn  their  finest  goods  with  rich  embroideries,  often  of 
sacred  or  religious  subjects  ;  following  in  this  respect  the 
example  of  the  Persians,  whose  fabrics  had  usually  upon  them 
the  homa  or  ''tree  of  life"  of  the  Zend-avesta  and  the  figures 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


21 


of  the  cheetah  or  leopard,  and  of  their  genii  and  devs,  or 
good  and  evil  spirits.  Much  of  the  Byzantine  silk  was  used 
for  ecclesiastical  purposes,  such  as  dalmatics  and  other  vest- 
ments, copes,  altar  cloths,  palls,  &c.,  &c.  Many  of  these  were 
richly  embroidered.  The  Byzantine  looms  declined  in  the 
amount  and  excellence  of  their  production  in  the  8th  and  9th 
centuries  ;  but  those  of  Thebes  and  the  other  Grecian  cities,  as 
well  as  those  of  Syria,  increased  their  production,  and  intro- 
duced material  improvements  m  their  manufacture,  though 
the  latter  copied  somewhat  servilely  the  Persian  designs. 

Until  the  downfall  of  the  Eastern  or  Greek  Empire,  in  the 
twelfth  century,  the  Greeks  maintained  their  superiority  .in 
silk  production ;  but  the  Arabs  and  the  Saracen  princes,  who 
derived  their  knowledge  of  the  manufacture  from  the  Persians, 
carried  it  with  them  to  Northern  Africa,  to  Spain  and  Por- 
tugal (then  Saracenic  kingdoms),  and  to  Sicily.  The  silk 
production  of  Spain  and  Sicily  was  very  considerable  as 
early  as  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries ;  and  in  the  twelfth 
century,  when  the  Normans  had  conquered  Sicily,  and  the 
Genoese  had  taken  some  of  the  largest  cities  of  Spain  and 
Portugal  from  the  Saracens,  the  first  thought  of  the  con- 
querors was  the  encouragement  of  this  important  manufac- 
ture. For  this  purpose  King  Roger,  the  first  of  the  Norman 
kings  of  Sicily,  after  his  return  from  his  second  crusade,  in 
II 46,  invaded  Greece,  carried  off  the  silk  treasures  of  Athens, 
Thebes  and  Corinth,  and  took  captive  a  large  number  of  silk 
weavers,  whom  he  constrained  to  settle  in  Palermo  and  Ca- 
labria, and  to  teach  his  people  the  Greek  methods  of  silk 
culture.  This  produced  a  marked  change  in  the  character 
and  designs  of  the  Sicilian  silks,  which  had  previously  been 
exclusively  Saracenic.  In  the  beginning  of  the  13th  century, 
the  Venetians  and  Genoese,  having  the  opportunity  of  fol- 
lowing the  example  of  King  Roger  in  regard  to  some  of  the 
Greek  provinces  which  had  come  into  their  possession,  trans- 
ferred many  Greek  and  Syrian  silk-growers  to  Venice 
and  Genoa.  In  both  States,  the  Governments  gave  every 
encouragement  to  this  industry,  and  ennobled  the  successful 
silk  producers,  as,  about  the  same  time,  Venice  did  the  skillful 


22 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


glass-workers  of  Murano.  At  the  beginning-  of  the  14th  cen- 
tury, Florence  and  Modena  were  largely  engaged  in  the 
production  of  silk,  and  it  had  already  become  a  source  of 
considerable  revenue  to  them.  Bologna  was  for  the  next 
two  centuries  the  principal  seat  of  the  machinery  for  the  work 
of  the  silk  throwsters.  The  production  of  velvets  at  Genoa, 
Florence  and  Lucca,  and  a  little  later  in  Flanders,  belonged 
to  the  14th  century,  though  a  few  pieces  probably  from 
China  or  Persia  had  made  their  appearance  in  Europe  as 
early  as  the  1 3th  century.  Canon  Rock,  in  his  valuable  little 
work  on  Textiles  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  speaks 
of  a  velvet  vestment  mentioned  in  the  inventory  of  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  in  1295.  In  Italy,  as  in  Spain  and  Flanders,  both 
the  culture  and  manufacture  of  silk  received  the  protection 
and  encouragement  of  the  rulers.  In  France,  as  in  Italy  and 
Greece,  the  manufacture  of  silk  long  preceded  all  serious 
attempts  at  silk  culture.  There  were  beginnings  of  the 
manufacture  at  Tours  and  perhaps  at  Lyons  certainly  in 
the  13th  century,  and,  if  some  of  the  writers  of  the  Middle 
Ages  are  to  be  believed,  even  before  the  close  of  the  12th 
century.  It  is  asserted  that  the  first  white  mulberry  tree 
ever  planted  in  France  was  brought  from  Syria  by  Guipape 
de  St.  Aubon,  on  his  return  from  the  Second  Crusade  (about 
1 147),  and  planted  three  leagues  from  Montmeliart ;  and  it  is 
further  stated,  that  this  tree  was  the  parent  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  white  mulberry  trees  in  France.  It  was  still 
standing  in  18 10,  and  was  carefully  guarded  by  its  owner. 
But  neither  this  tree  nor  the  silk  factories  of  Tours  contrib- 
uted for  a  long  period  to  any  considerable  development  of 
the  silk  trade  in  France ;  though  most  of  its  kings,  from 
Charlemagne  onward,  as  well  as  many  of  its  nobles,  appeared 
in  vestments  of  silk  and  velvet.  These  were  generally  brought 
from  Greece,  and  later  from  Italy ;  but  some  of  those  worn 
by  Charles  VI.,  Charles  VII.,  and  Louis  IX.,  may  have  been 
from  the  looms  of  Tours.  The  manufactory  at  Tours  was 
greatly  enlarged  by  Louis  IX.,  in  1480,  who  sent  thither 
weavers  and  other  workers  in  silk  whom  he  had  brought 
from  Genoa,  Venice  and  Florence.    He  also  made  some 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


23 


attempts  to  introduce  the  culture  of  the  mulberry  and  the 
rearing  of  silk-worms,  but  with  very  slight  success.  Charles 
VIII.  renewed  the  attempt  in  1494,  and  with  somewhat  better 
results,  for  the  provinces  along  the  Rhone  raised  a  consid- 
erable quantity  of  cocoons.  About  1 5 2 1 ,  Francis  I.  undertook  to 
foster  both  silk  manufacture  and  silk  culture.  He  transported 
a  large  number  of  skilled  silk  workers  from  Milan  (which  was 
then  held  by  the  French)  to  Lyons,  established  extensive 
silk  manufactories  there,  supplying  them  with  raw  silk  from 
Italy,  and  then  attempted  to  introduce  silk  culture  into  the 
provinces  of  Lyons,  Avignon  and  Provence.  More  than  forty 
years  later  (in  1564),  we  find  that  Fraucat,  a  gardener  of 
Nismes,  founded  the  first  nursery  of  white  mulberry  trees  in 
France,  which,  in  a  few  years,  supplied  the  southern  prov- 
inces with  that  valuable  tree.  But  it  was  not  until  1603, 
during  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.  (Henry  of  Navarre),  that  the 
silk  culture  was  fairly  and  fully  established  in  France. 

He  called  to  his  aid  a  skillful  and  philanthropic  agriculturist, 
Ollivier  de  Serres,  and  after  considerable  deliberation  ordered 
the  planting  of  large  groves  of  mulberry  trees  around  Paris, 
distributed  lavishly  the  eggs  of  the  silk-worm,  and  offered 
bounties  for  silk  and  for  the  most  productive  trees.  In  this 
first  experiment  he  was  too  hasty.  The  people  were  not  fully 
instructed ;  the  trees  did  not  thrive  ;  the  worms  died  by  tens 
of  thousands,  and  of  the  few  that  did  make  cocoons  the 
moths  were  allowed  to  pierce  the  cocoons,  and  their  eggs 
were  wasted.  Vexed  with  their  want  of  success,  where  they 
had  cherished  such  anticipations  of  profit,  the  people  rooted 
up  the  trees,  destroyed  the  few  remaining  worms  and  eggs, 
and  abandoned  the  business  in  disgust.  But  Henri  IV.  per- 
sisted in  his  determination.  Selecting  a  very  large  orange 
orchard  of  his  ancestral  estates,  he  ordered  it  cleared  and 
stocked  with  mulberry  trees,  procured  an  ample  supply  of 
silk-worm  eggs,  and  a  skillful  silk-grower  to  manage  them,  and 
presently  he  had  an  abundance  of  silk.  Ashamed  of  their 
former  petulance,  the  people  began  to  work  again,  this  time 
under  skilled  instructors ;  and  their  efforts  were  crowned 
with  success.    The  experiment  cost  the  king  a  million  and  a 


24 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


half  of  livres.  Bvit  the  money  was  well  expended,  securing* 
as  it  did  the  prosperity  of  the  nation.  In  the  reign  of  Louis 
XIV.,  his  great  minister,  Colbert,  continued  to  care  for  the 
silk  manufacture.  The  Huguenots  were  largely  engaged  in 
this  business,  and  when  the  Grand  Monarqiie  sought  to  atone 
by  an  old  age  of  fanaticism  for  a  sinful  life,  and  revoked  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  nearly  400,000  Huguenots,  most  of  them  de- 
pendent directly  or  indirectly  on  the  silk  industry  for  their 
living,  were  driven  into  exile,  and  almost  as  many  more  per- 
ished or  were  slain.  This  nearly  annihilated  the  silk  manu- 
facture of  France;  the  18,000  looms  of  Lyons  were  reduced 
to  4,000,  and  weavers  could  not  be  found  even  for  those ;  the 
11,000  looms  of  Tours  were  diminished  to  1,200,  and  its  800 
mills  to  70.  Of  the  Huguenot  refugees,  more  than  100,000 
fled  to  England,  and  established  the  silk  manufacture  there  on 
a  firm  basis.  All  attempts  at  silk  culture  in  that  country  fail- 
ed, the  climate  being  unfavorable  to  the  silk-worm  ;  but  after 
the  introduction  of  the  Italian  method  of  throwing  or  twisting 
the  silk  in  171 8,  through  the  daring  enterprise  of  Mr.  John 
Lombe — then  a  mere  youth — the  manufacture  in  England  re- 
ceived a  new  impulse,  and  English  silks  largely  replaced  the 
French  in  the  European  markets.  It  was  long  before  France 
recovered  the  prestige  which  she  had  lost  through  the  folly 
and  wickedness  of  Louis  XIV.;  and  when  it  was  partially 
restored,  it  was  again  almost  destroyed  by  the  Revolution  of 
1793,  and  only  recovered  under  the  protection  afforded  by  the 
stringent  tariff  of  Napoleon  I.,  which  was  afterwards  main- 
tained by  the  Bourbons  and  Louis  Philippe. 

In  England,  laboring  under  the  disadvantage  of  being 
obliged  to  buy  raw  silk  in  the  open  market,  after  the  failure 
of  repeated  efforts  at  silk  culture,  it  was  only  by  the  most 
rigid  protective  measures  that  the  silk  manufactories  were 
sustained ;  and  while  it  might  have  been  supposed  that,  with 
all  the  improvements  in  machinery  and  the  vast  amount  of 
capital  invested  in  the  silk  industry,  her  manufacturers  would 
have  been  able  to  maintain  their  position,  it  is  an  admitted 
fact  that  the  commercial  treaty  of  i860,  which  admitted  French 
silks  duty  free,  proved  fatal  to  many  branches  of  the  silk  manu- 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


25 


facture  of  Great  Britain,  and  reduced  the  silk  weavers  of 
Manchester  and  Macclesfield  to  beggary.  These  great  seats 
of  the  English  silk  manufacture  formerly  competed  with 
Lyons  for  the  American  trade ;  but  since  that  treaty  went 
into  effect  the  competition  has  ceased,  and  the  English  mills 
are  closed. 

Switzerland  and  Germany  profited  by  the  misfortunes  and 
mismanagement  of  France,  and  are  at  the  present  time  largely 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  silk.  The  raw  material  is, 
in  part,  produced  within  their  own  boundaries. 

Belgium  and  Holland  have  been  for  several  centuries  large- 
ly engaged  in  silk  production,  and  the  velvets  and  satins  of 
Flanders  are  quite  as  old  and  of  as  good  quality  as  those  of 
the  Italian  cities. 

The  manufactured  silks  of  China,  Japan  and  India,  have  a 
character  of  their  own,  and  for  some  purposes  are  in  demand, 
but  they  do  not  compete  to  any  considerable  extent  with  Eu- 
ropean silks,  though  so-called  Japanese  and  India  silks  are 
largely  manufactured  in  Europe. 


26 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA 


IV. 

Silk  Production  in  America. 

ILK  CULTURE  was  attempted  in  the  early  in- 
fancy of  the  American  Colonies,  and  it  is  worthy 
of  notice  that  the  first,  as  well  as  several  of  the 
subsequent  efforts  to  promote  it,  grew  out  of 
the  selfish  desire  of  English  kings  to  keep  the 
colonies  dependent  on  the  mother  country,  and 
to  make  them  serve  its  interests,  even  at  the 
expense  of  their  own. 
James  I.  of  England,  while  one  of  the  most  pedantic,  was 
also  one  of  the  most  willful  and  stubborn  of  English  kings. 
He  was  almost  insane  on  two  subjects,  viz. :  his  hatred  of 
tobacco,  against  which  he  wrote  a  most  absurd  book,  called 
The  Counterblast  Against  Tobacco  ;"  and  his  sanguine  con- 
viction that  silk-worms  could  be  reared  in  England  in  suffi- 
cient quantities  to  supply  the  increasing  demand  for  raw  silk 
for  the  English  manufactories.    In  1608,  he  commenced  his 
attempts  to  compel  the  raising  of  silk-worms,  but  fourteen 
years  of  successive  and  costly  failures  finally  convinced  even 
him,  that  there  was  no  hope  of  success  in  that  direction. 
Meanwhile,  a  colony  had  been  planted  in  Virginia,  and  was 
becoming  moderately  prosperous.    This  colony  was  cultivat- 
ing the  hated  tobacco  tos  uch  an  extent,  that  it  had  become 
its  currency  ;  everything  was  reckoned  at  so  many  pounds  of 
tobacco,  from  the  salary  of  the  rector  to  the  price  of  a  pair  of 
shoes.   H ere  James  I .  found  opportunity  to  gratify  two  master- 
passions  ;  he  could,  he  beUeved,  cut  up,  root  and  branch,  the 
culture  of  tobacco,  and  in  the  genial  climate  of  Virginia  he 
could  employ  the  colonists  in  cultivating  the  mulberry  and 
rearing  silk-worms  ;  not,  be  it  observed,  to  encourage  them 
in  the  manufacture,  but  to  compel  them  to  supply  the  cocoons, 
or  the  raw  silk,  to  his  manufactories  in  England,  which  was 
to  be  their  only  market  for  this  product.    Whether  this  would 
inure  to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  colony,  was  not  a 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


27 


question  which  troubled  him ;  it  was  sufficient  for  his  pur- 
pose that  it  would  injure  the  tobacco  culture,  and  make  the 
colonists  dependent  on  England  for  a  market  for  their  pro- 
ducts. The  orders  he  gave  were  peremptory.  The  culture 
of  tobacco  must  be  abandoned.  The  mulberry  must  be  culti- 
vated, and  silk-worms  reared.  He  sent  over  the  mulberry 
trees  and  the  silk-worm  eggs,  and  directed  the  company  who 
were  managing  the  colony  to  follow  up  his  orders  by  suitable 
legislation.  They  did  so,  imposing  a  fine  of  ten  pounds  of 
tobacco  on  every  planter  who  did  not  cultivate  at  least  ten 
mulberry  trees  for  every  100  acres  of  his  estate.  This  was  in 
1623,  and  for  some  time  the  business  went  on  w^ell.  The  raw 
silk  was  made  in  small  quantities  and  sent  to  England,  and 
Parliament  once  or  twice  offered  premiums  for  larger  quan- 
tities ;  but  the  Civil  War  came  on,  and  the  Stuarts  for  the 
time  disappeared.  Cromwell  was  too  busy  with  other  mat- 
ters to  find  time  to  attend  to  the  culture  of  silk  in  a  distant 
colony.  Moreover,  the  tobacco  trade  was  prosperous  and 
profitable,  notwithstanding  King  James'  counterblast.  In 
1656  and  1657,  the  silk  culture  was  moderately  thriving,  but 
the  Colonial  Assembly  thought  it  needed  encouragement. 
Mr.  Walker,  one  of  the  members  of  the  Assembly,  said  he 
had  70,000  mulberry  trees  on  his  estate,  but  did  not  tell  how 
much  silk  he  made.  The  Assembly  offered  10,000  pounds  of 
tobacco  to  any  planter  who  should  export  ;^200  worth  of  raw 
silk  or  cocoons  in  a  single  year;  5,000  pounds  of  tobacco  to 
the  producer  of  1,000  pounds  of  raw  silk;  and  4,000  pounds 
of  tobacco  to  any  planter  who  would  remain  in  the  country 
to  devote  himself  exclusively  to  silk  culture.  We  have  no 
evidence  that  these  premiums  were  ever  earned.  Some  silk 
was  produced  and  sent  to  England,  and  there  is  a  tradition 
that  either  Charles  I.  or  Charles  II.  had  a  robe  made  of  it. 
In  1666,  these  offers  of  premiums  were  w^ithdrawn,  the  Legis- 
lature alleging  that  the  culture  was  so  well  established  that 
there  was  no  need  of  further  encouragement ;  but  it  was 
renewed  for  a  year  in  1669.  From  this  period  it  seems  to 
have  fallen  off  rapidly  ;  and  though  the  mulberry  trees  were 
sufficiently  abundant,  and  the  silk-worms  thrived  when  they 


28 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


received  attention,  the  production  of  silk  had  ceased  to  be 
profitable — especially  as  compared  with  tobacco — and  was 
virtually  abandoned.  We  find  instances,  occasionally,  during 
the  next  hundred  years,  of  some  delegate  to  the  Colonial  As- 
sembly coming  thither  with  a  silk  waistcoat  or  handkerchiefs, 
made  from  silk  of  his  own  raising,  and  woven  in  his  own 
house  ;  or  of  some  grand  lady  appearing  at  a  reception  of  the 
Colonial  Governor  or  in  a  public  assembly,  clad  in  a 
gown  woven  from  native-grown  silk.  In  either  case,  the 
fabrics  were  greatly  praised  ;  yet  it  must  be  confessed  that, 
as  compared  with  the  silks  of  our  own  time,  they  were  very 
imperfect  goods,  and  would  be  scouted  by  our  belles  and 
beaux  as  unworthy  to  be  worn.  This  imperfection  was  due 
to  four  or  five  causes :  bad  reeling,  imperfect  twisting  or 
throwing  of  the  silk  (the  art  of  the  throwster  being  very  little 
understood  at  that  time,  even  in  England),  insufficient  clean- 
ing, and  ignorance  in  regard  to  weaving  and  finishing  the 
goods.  Those  home-made  silks  were  fuzzy  as  well  as  stiff ; 
the  colors  did  not  stand  well,  and  they  were  defective  in  lustre. 

In  1732,  a  piece  of  ground  was  allotted  by  the  Colonial 
Government  of  Georgia  as  a  nursery  plantation  of  white  mul- 
berry trees.  Lands  were  granted  to  settlers  on  the  condition 
that  they  should  plant  100  white  mulberry  trees  on  every  ten 
acres,  when  cleared,  and  ten  years  were  allowed  for  their 
cultivation.  Mulberry  trees  and  seed,  and  the  eggs  of  the 
silk-worm,  were  sent  over  by  the  colonial  trustees.  An  Epis- 
copal clergyman,  who  was  versed  in  silk-culture,  and  a  native 
of  Piedmont,  who  was  an  expert  silk-reeler,  were  engaged  to 
instruct  the  people.  So  early  as  1735,  eight  pounds  of  raw 
silk  were  sent  from  Savannah  to  England,  where  it  was  woven, 
and  presented  to  the  Queen.  To  encourage  the  culture,  the 
British  Parliament  passed,  in  1749,  an  Act  exempting  from 
duty  all  raw  silk  which  was  certified  to  be  the  production  of 
Georgia  or  Carolina.  The  same  year  a  bounty  was  also 
offered  for  the  production  of  silk,  and  an  Italian  gentleman, 
Signor  Ortclengi,  was  engaged  to  proceed  to  Georgia  to  in- 
struct the  colonists  in  the  Italian*  methods  of  sericulture. 
Twelve  years  later,  viz.,  in  1761,  we  learn  from  the  Rev.  Dr. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


29 


Tared  Elliott  s  Essays,  that  the  London  Society  for  the  En- 
couragement of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Commerce,  had 
offered  a  premuim  of  three  pence  per  pound  for  good  single 
cocoons,  which  was  nearly  equivalent  to  three  shilhngs  ster- 
ling per  pound  for  raw  silk.  The  cocoons  were  to  be  brought 
to  the  filature  at  Savannah  under  the  direction  ol  Signor 
Ortolengi.  The  establishment  ol  this  filature — for  reeling, 
doubling,  cleaning  and  twisting,  or  throwing  silk — is  an 
added  testimony  to  what  we  learn  from  other  sources,  that 
the  silk  culture  had  come  to  be  an  important  business  in  that 
colony.  Dr.  Elliott  states  that  in  1759  the  export  of  raw  silk 
to  England  lor  that  year,  from  Georgia  alone,  already  ex- 
ceeded 10,000  pounds,  and  that  it  was  of  such  excellent 
quality  that  it  sold  in  London  at  from  two  to  three  shilhngs  a 
pound  more  than  that  from  any  other  part  ol  the  world.  In 
1758,  a  fire  in  the  filature  and  storehouse  consumed  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  raw  silk  and  8,000  pounds  of  cocoons.  The 
year  1759  seems  to  have  been  the  culminating  year  m  the  silk 
culture  in  Georgia ;  for,  though  the  exportation  continued 
until  1772,  it  was  in  decreasing  amounts.  The  introduction 
of  cotton  culture  seems  to  have  been,  in  part,  the  cause  for 
this ;  for,  though,  of  course,  the  export  trade  was  wholly  cut 
oft  by  the  Revolutionary  War,  there  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  any  silk  to  export.  There  is  recorded  in  the  i8th  cen- 
tury but  one  lot  of  silk  exported  from  Savannah  after  the 
Revolution.  In  1790,  two  hundred  pounds  of  raw  silk  were 
purchased  there  for  exportation  at  prices  ranging  from  18  to 
26  shillings  per  pound.  For  the  next  thirty-five  or  forty  years 
there  was  very  little  silk  produced  in  Georgia. 

The  siik  culture  and  trade  in  South  Carohna  commenced 
about  the  same  time  as  m  Georgia,  and  though  much  less 
was  produced  there  than  in  the  sister  colony,  its  quality  was 
said  by  Sir  Thomas  Lombe,  the  most  eminent  silk  manufac- 
turer in  England,  to  have  been  equal  or  superior  to  any  ot 
the  Itahan.  In  1755  Mrs.  Pinckney,  a  lady  of  great  distinc- 
tion and  w^ealth  in  South  Carolina,  took  with  her  to  England 
a  quantity  of  excellent  silk  w^hich  she  had  raised  and  spun  m 
the  vicinity  of  Charleston,  and  had  enough  of  it  woven  to 


30 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


make  three  dresses,  one  of  which  she  presented  to  the  Princess 
Dowager  of  Wales,  and  another  to  Lord  Chesterfield,  keeping 
the  third  for  her  own  use.  This  silk  was  pronounced  in 
England  equal  to  any  imported  into  that  country.  The  dress 
she  had  reserved  for  her  own  use  was  in  Charleston  as  late  as 
1809,  in  possession  of  Mrs.  Pinckney's  daughter,  and  was 
even  then  remarkable  for  its  beauty,  firmness,  and  strength.* 
The  silk  business  began  to  decline  in  South  Carolina  at  about 
the  same  time,  and  probably  from  the  same  cause,  as  in 
Georgia.  It  is  stated,  on  the  authority  of  Thomas  McCall, 
in  the  Report  on  the  Growth  and  Manufacture  of  Silk, 
made  to  Congress  in  1828,  under  the  direction  of  the  Hon. 
Richard  Rush,  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  that  the 
colonists  at  New  Bordeaux — a  French  settlement  on  the 
Savannah  river,  about  70  miles  above  Augusta — manufactured 
sewing-silk  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  in  such  quantities 
as  to  supply  the  high  country  (probably  Georgia,  and  the 
western  parts  of  South  and  North  Carolina). 

Connecticut  was  the  next  colony  to  engage  in  the  silk 
industry,  though  the  culture  of  the  white  mulberry  had  com- 
menced on  Long  Island  as  early  as  1755  or  1756.  Dr.  N. 
Aspinwall,  who  had  a  large  nursery  of  these  trees  on  the 
Island,  planted  considerable  numbers  at  New  Haven,  and 
about  the  same  time  at  Mansfield,  Windham  County.  He  also 
introduced  in  both  places,  as  early  as  1762,  silk-worm  eggs,  and 
in  1763,  with  the  aid  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles,  afterwards 
President  of  Yale  College,  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the 
Legislature  of  the  colony  an  Act,  offering  ten  shillings  bounty 
or  premium  for  every  hundred  trees  which  should  be 
planted  and  preserved  in  a  thrifty  condition  for  three 
years,  and  three  pence  per  ounce  for  all  raw  silk 
which  the  owners  of  trees  should  produce  from  cocoons 
of  their  own  raising  within  the  State.  This  bounty  was 
continued  for  some  years,  and  when  the  cultivation  of  the 
mulberry  had  become  so  general  that  the  act  was  found  un- 
necessary, a  small  bounty  on  raw  silk  manufactured  within 


*  *'  Ramsay's  History  of  South  Carolina,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  221. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


31 


the  State  was  substituted  for  it  for  some  years  longer.*  Bar- 
ber, in  his  Historical  Collections  of  Connecticut,  states  that 
in  1766  a  half-ounce  of  mulberry  seed  was  sent  to  every  parish 
in  the  colony.  The  date  is  probably  three  years  later  than  it 
should  be.  Mr.  A.  T.  Lilly,  in  a  yery  interesting  pamphlet  on 
the  ''Silk  Industry  of  the  United  States,  from  1766  to  1874," 
which  is  mainly  confined  to  an  account  of  that  industry  in 
New  England,  and  for  the  first  half  of  the  108  years  to  Con- 
necticut, says  that  "  Mansfield  seems  to  have  been  the  only 
locality  where  raising  silk  became  a  fixed  industry."  While 
this  statement  is  probably  true  of  the  period  between  18 10 
and  1844,  it  hardly  does  justice  to  other  portions  of  the  State 
at  an  earlier  period.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Stiles  became  an  enthu- 
siast on  the  subject  of  silk  culture  from  the  first ;  he  reared 
many  silk-worms.  Their  product  was  reeled  after  the 
rude  fashion  of  those  days,  wound,  spun  or  twisted,  dyed  and 
woven,  and  his  official  robes  were  made  from  this  silk.  It 
was  undoubtedly  a  very  durable,  though  perhaps  not  as  com- 
pared with  the  manufactures  of  the  present  day,  an  elegant 
silk.  But  President  Stiles  did  more  than  this ;  he  kept  a  diary 
of  his  experiences  in  silk  culture,  from  1763  to  1790,  and  his 
observations  in  regard  to  the  climate,  temperature,  amount 
of  food  for  each  age,  and  the  provision  of  suitable  facilities 
for  spinning,  as  well  as  concerning  the  preservation  of 
the  cocoons,  the  care  of  the  silk-worm  eggs,  &c.,  are  very 
interesting  to  the  silk  culturist.  This  manuscript  diary,  in  a 
thick  quarto  volume,  fastened  with  a  silken  cord,  is  still  in  the 
library  of  Yale  College ;  and  is  one  of  about  twenty  volumes 
of  his  manuscript  observations,  preserved  there.  The  domestic 
culture  of  silk  was  very  general,  both  in  the  eastern  and 
western  parts  of  the  State,  during  and  subsequent  to  the  Rev- 
olution, and  even  as  late  as  1820  or  1825.  Many  persons  now 
living  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  having  seen  small  groves 
of  white  mulberries,  and  rude  cocooneries  built  of  rough 
boards  or  shingled,  in  which  the  women  of  the  generation  im- 
mediately following  the  Revolution  used  to  feed  silk-worms. 


*  Gov.  Wolcott's  reply  to  the  Silk  Circular  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  1828. 


32 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


The  cocooneries  were  to  be  found  all  over  New  Haven, 
Fairfield,  Middlesex,  Tolland,  New  London  and  Windham 
Counties.  There  is  no  question  of  the  excellence  of  the 
cocoons  which  were  thus  raised  ;  but  the  reeling  was  very 
poor.  The  threads,  when,  wound,  spun,  twisted  and  dyed, 
were  uneven  and  gummy ;  and,  for  the  most  part,  tiiough  of 
better  material  than  the  imported  silk,  bore  no  comparison  to 
it  in  evenness,  color  and  finish.  This  w^as  particularly  true 
of  the  sewing  silk,  which  cou.ld  be  sold  only  in  barter,  and 
at  prices  greatly  below  the  imported  article.  There  was 
also  an  enormous  waste  of  silk  from  this  imperfect  reeling. 
Jonathan  H.  Cobb,  in  his  ''Manual,"  4th  edition,  pages  123 
and  124,  states  that  the  loss  was  one-half  the  weight,  although 
the  goods  were  manufactured  from  the  best  silk,  while  Italian 
sewing-silk  was  manufactured  from  the  lower  grades.  The 
Hon.  Peter  S.  Duponceau,  President  of  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society,  and  a  most  zealous  silk  culturist,  in  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Cobb,  of  October  21,  1831,  says  very  forcibly,  "this 
comes  from  bad  reeling.  This  shows  that  our  Connecticut 
women  in  70  years  have  not  improved  their  knowledge  m  the 
art  of  reelmg." 

The  culture  of  silk,  mainly  in  the  domestic  way,  though  with 
some  improvements  in  spinning  and  reeling,  which  made  the 
product  a  little  more  marketable,  was  continued  in  Mansfield 
and  in  Tolland  Co.,  Conn.,  and  did  not  quite  cease  until  1844. 
It  was  not  unprofitable  ;  the  outlay  was  slight,  and  the  reeling 
and  spinning  were  performed  in  those  leisure  hours  of  which 
our  grandmothers  had  so  many  more  than  their  grand- 
daughters. Mr.  Lilly  estimates  that,  in  the  town  of  Mansfield 
alone,  the  silk-growers  received,  from  1820  to  1830,  mainly  in 
barter,  about  $50,000  per  annum  for  their  silk.  Under  other 
circumstances,  the  business,  if  followed  as  a  means  of  liveli- 
hood, might  have  proved  a  failure.  When  the  raw  silk,  prop- 
erly reeled,  came  to  have  a  definite  cash  value,  the  wasteful 
processes  which  had  hitherto  characterized  its  production 
must  cease ;  but  this  would  require  skilled  labor,  the  result 
of  long  and  careful  training,  and  commanding  a  high  price. 
It  would  have  been  difficult  to  have  educated  American 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


33 


women,  accustomed  from  childhood  to  the  careless  ways  of 
reeling-  practised  here  for  seventy  years,  to  the  patient,  slow, 
and  skilful  methods  of  the  Chinese,  Itahan,  or  French  women, 
who  do  well  if  they  produce  a  pound  and  a  half  or  two  pounds 
of  perfectly  reeled  silk  in  a  week.  But  the  children  might 
have  been  educated  to  the  work.  Improvements  in  the  ma- 
chinery of  reeling  have  since  been  made,  which  would  much 
simplify  the  problem  to  the  present  generation,  if  the  culture 
of  silk  should  again  be  attempted  here. 

At  no  time  did  silk  culture  make  any  great  progress  in 
the  New  England  States,  except  in  Connecticut.  Consid- 
erable efforts  were  made  to  promote  it,  but  only  with  tem- 
porary success.  The  next  State  or  colony  which  engaged  in 
silk  culture  after  Connecticut  was  Pennsylvania.  Dr.  Aspin- 
wall,  a  resident  of  New  Haven,  and  the  pioneer  in  the  culture 
of  the  white  mulberry  in  Connecticut,  was  the  first  to  intro- 
duce that  tree  into  Pennsylvania.  This  must  have  been  in 
1767  or  1768.  The  rearing  of  silk- worms  probably  com- 
menced about  the  same  time,  or  possibly  a  little  earlier. 
These  may  have  been  fed  at  first  on  the  leaves  of  the  wild  or 
black  mulberry.  John  Clarke,  a  silk  culturist  of  1830- 1844 
states,  in  his  Treatise  on  the  "  Mulberry  and  Silk-worm,"  page 
114  (though  he  does  not  give  his  authority),  that  in  1770,  Mrs. 
Susanna  Wright,  at  Columbia,  Lancaster  County,  made  a 
piece  of  mantua,  sixty  yards  in  length,  from  her  own  cocoons, 
and  that  it  was  afterwards  worn  as  a  court  dress  by  the 
Queen  of  Great  Britain.  About  this  time  Grace  Fisher  made 
a  considerable  quantity  of  silk  stuffs,  and  a  piece  of  these 
was  presented  by  Governor  Dickenson  to  the  celebrated 
Catharine  Macauley.  He  also  says :  "  We  learn  that  many 
ladies  before  the  Revolution  wore  silk  dresses  of  their  own 
fabrication."  The  American  Philosophical  Society,  at  Phila- 
delphia, had  taken  much  interest  in  the  subject  of  silk  culture. 
Mr.  D'Homergue,  in  his  "  Essays,"  states  that  a  filature  of 
raw  silk  was  established  in  Philadelphia  in  1 769  ;  the  Genesee 
Farmer  adds,  after  correcting  the  date  of  establishment  to 
1770,  that  in  the  following  year,  2,300  pounds  of  cocoons  were 
brought  there  to  reel. 


I 


34 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


From  Secretary  Rush's  report,  which  gives  the  dates  some- 
what differently,  it  appears  that  the  estabhshment  of  a  filature, 
and  other  efforts  with  respect  to  silk  culture,  resulted  from  a 
public  subscription  amounting  toi^875,  145-.  colonial  currency 
(about  $2,627).  This  subscription  was  raised  by  the  efforts  ot 
the  American  Philosophical  Society,  which  had  been  aroused 
by  a  letter  from  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin,  then  residing  in  Eng- 
land as  Agent  of  the  Colony.  The  letter  replied  to  one  on  the 
subject  from  Dr.  Cadwallader  Evans.  Dr.  Franklin  also  sent 
the  Society  a  work  by  the  Abbe  Sauvage  on  the  raising  of 
silk-worms.  Thus  stimulated,  the  industry  attained  a  fair  pros- 
perity in  Pennsylvania,  and  many  of  the  older  families  still 
possess  the  silk  garments  made  by  their  ancestors.  But  the 
war  of  the  Revolution  checked  these  labors,  and  they  were 
only  partially  resumed  on  the  return  of  peace.  The  publica- 
tion of  a  paper  by  the  Philosophical  Society  (Transactions, 
Vol.  II),  on  the  mode  of  rearing  silk-worms  and  winding  silk, 
proved  of  conspicuous  service. 

The  culture  of  silk  was  attempted  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  in  New  Jersey  and  New  York,  but  did 
not  attain  any  great  magnitude  in  either  State.  It  was  also 
commenced  on  a  moderate  scale  in  Delaware  and  Maryland, 
and  was  maintained  in  the  vicinity  of  Baltimore  for  many 
years.  Secretary  Rush's  report  states  that  the  French  colo- 
nists in  Illinois  had  very  early  commenced  raising  silk-worms. 
Similar  attempts  were  made  in  Massachusetts,  Vermont  and 
New  Hampshire,  and  even  in  Maine,  though  in  the  last  three 
States  with  no  great  success. 


it 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


35 


V. 

Efforts  to  Revive  a7id  Extend  Silk  Ctdture 
—  1 780- 1 844. 

URING  the  period  from  1780  to  1820  or 
1824,  the  amount  of  silk  made  in  the  United 
States  was  not  very  great :  it  had  become  a 
domestic  manufacture.  In  some  considerable 
districts,  many  families  made  their  five,  ten, 
twenty,  thn'ty,  or  fifty  pounds  of  silk  annually  ; 
and  very  rarely  an  enthusiastic  worker  brought 
her  product  up  to  80  or  100  pounds.  This 
domestic  production  and  manufacture  was 
perhaps  more  common  in  Connecticut  than  elsewhere,  though 
there  were  numerous  instances  in  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
and  in  parts  of  New  York,  Delaware,  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia. The  silk  was  reeled  on  the  ordinary  hand-reel — 
very  badly,  as  we  have  seen.  It  was  spun  upon  the  ordinary 
large  wheel  used  for  spinning  wool;  though  in  1800,  in 
Wmdham  County,  Horace  Hanks  invented  a  double  wheel- 
head  which  greatly  facilitated  the  labor  of  spinning  cotton, 
woollen  or  silk.  A  part  of  this  silk  was  dyed,  doubled, 
twisted,  and  made  into  sewing-silk,  as  already  described.  A 
part  was  made  into  domestic  silks,  which  were  somewhat 
uneven  in  texture — comparing  with  our  present  silks  very 
much  as  the  old-fashioned  homespun  cloths  would  with  the 
best  broadcloth.  The  floss  and  waste,  and  probably  the 
pierced  and  imperfect  cocoons  also,  were  carded  and  spun, 
and  being  mixed  with  wool,  cotton,  or  flax,  made  very 
durable,  though  not  very  elegant,  stuffs  for  every-day  wear. 
In  1810,  according  to  the  ''Statement"  of  Tench  Coxe,  the 
value  of  the  sewing-silk  and  raw  silk,  made  in  the  three 
counties  of  New  London,  Windham  and  Tolland,  Conn., 
was  $28,503  ;  Avhile  the  fabrics  made  from  the  refuse  silk  were 
estimated  at  about  half  of  that  sum.  During  the  War  of 
1812-15,  Samuel  Chidsey,  of  Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y.,  sold  sew- 


36 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


ing-silk  of  his  own  manufacture  to  the  amount  of  $600 
per  annum.  Silk  culture  had  been  commenced  about  this 
time  in  Ohio,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  In  the  first  State  it 
was  in  the  hands  of  emigrants  from  England ;  in  Kentucky, 
the  Moravians  or  United  Brethren  were  introducing  it;  and 
in  Tennessee,  it  was  probably  undertaken  by  some  of  the 
Georgia  or  South  Carolina  silk-growers  who  had  emigrated 
thither. 

Meanwhile  the  importations  of  silk  goods  were  increasing 
in  a  fearful  ratio,  and  our  exports  of  breadstuffs — which  at 
that  time  were  a  staple  commodity — were  decreasing  in  more 
than  an  equal  degree.  A  committee  of  the  national  House 
of  Representatives,  in  May,  1826,  made  a  report  showing  that 
in  1821  we  imported  $4,486,924  worth  of  silk  goods;  in  1823, 
$6,713,771;  and  in  1825,  $10,271,527 ;  on  the  other  hand,  in 
1817  we  exported  breadstuffs  to  the  amount  of  $20,374,000; 
in  1818,  to  $15,388,000;  in  1824,  to  $6,799,246;  m  1825,  to 
$5,417,997,  or  about  one-half  the  value  ot  the  silks  imported. 
This  entire  amount  oi  imports,  and  indeed  much  more,  it  was 
contended,  we  should  have  produced  on  our  own  soil ;  and 
it  was  said  that  we  were  going  to  ruin  because  we  had  not 
done  so.  Twenty-four  years  before,  an  eminent  New  York 
agriculturist,  Peter  Delabigarre,  had  said  in  an  address  on 
this  very  subject,  to  the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Soci- 
ety "  Gentlemen,  you  have  in  your  hands  all  the  means 
requisite  for  success,  and  for  enriching  yourselves  by  the  cul- 
ture of  silk.  It  remains  with  you  to  compare  and  judge  your 
many  attempts  in  it,  and  discover  wherein  they  have  been  de- 
fective!' At  the  period  of  which  we  are  speaking — 1 825-1 844 
— everybody  seemed  to  have  started  out  on  this  voyage  of 
discovery.  Committee  after  committee  was  raised  in  Con- 
gress to  see  what  could  be  done  to  help  the  silk  business.  It 
was  at  this  time  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  produced 
a  goodly  octavo  report  on  the  subject.  Such  men  as  the  Hon. 
Peter  S.  Duponceau,  the  friend  and  countryman  of  Lafayette, 
and  at  that  time  President  ot  the  American  Philosophical  So- 


*  Vol.  I.,  Agricultural  Transactions  of  the  Sitate  of  New  York,  1801. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


37 


ciety ;  his  protege  and  friend,  J.  D'Homergue;  Gov.  Lincoln 
of  Massachusetts,  and  Gov.  Wolcott  of  Connecticut ;  the  Hon. 
Jonathan  H.  Cobb  of  Dedham,  Mass. ;  the  Hon.  Gideon  B. 
Smith  of  Baltimore  ;  the  Hon.  Andrew  T.  Judson,  then  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  and  afterward  one  of  the  Supreme  Court 
Judges  of  Connecticut ;  the  Hon.  Zalmon  Storrs  of  Mansfield, 
Conn. ;  Dr.  Felix  Pascalis  of  New  York  ;  Samuel  Whitmarsh 
and  Dr.  Stebbins  of  Northampton,  Mass. ;  the  Rev.  I.  R.  Bar- 
bour of  Oxford,  Mass. ;  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  period  the 
brothers  Charles  and  Ward  Cheney,  all  appeared  in  print  with 
their  ''discoveries"  of  the  best  methods  of  reviving  and  en- 
larging the  domain  of  the  silk  industry. 


38 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


VI. 

TJie  Mortis  Multicaulis  Mania. 

NE  after  another  of  the  experimenters  in  silk 
culture  began  to  advocate  the  Morns  imilticanlis, 
and  recommend  their  friends  to  cultivate  the 
trees,  and  raise  silk  if  they  could ;  but  at  all 
events  to  raise  multicaulis  trees.  Grave  doctors 
of  medicine  and  doctors  of  divinity,  men  learned 
in  the  law,  agriculturists,  mechanics,  and  mer- 
chants, and  women  as  well  as  men,  seemed  to 
be  infected  with  a  strange  frenzy  in  regard  to 
this  mulberry  tree.  They  met  in  solemn  conclaves  over 
bundles  of  Morns  multicaulis  twigs,  discussing  seriously  the 
glorious  time,  when,  in  the  not  distant  future,  every  farm 
should  be  a  nursery  for  the  young  trees,  every  house  should 
have  its  cocooneries  attached,  its  silk- worms  of  the  bivoltine, 
trivoltine,  or  polyvoltine  breeds  yielding  two,  three  or  four 
crops  of  cocoons  per  year.  The  farmers'  wives  and  daughters, 
when  not  engaged  in  feeding  the  worms,  were  to  reel  the 
silk,  and  perhaps  to  spin  and  twist  it,  till  silk  should  become 
as  cheap  as  cotton,  and  every  matron  and  maid  rejoice  in  the 
possession  of  at  least  a  dozen  silk  dresses.  It  does  not  clearly 
appear  where  and  on  what  occasions  they  were  to  wear  these 
dresses,  while  their  whole  time  was  to  be  occupied  with  the 
care  of  the  silk-worms  and  cocoons. 

Gideon  B.  Smith,  of  Baltimore,  is  said  to  have  owned 
the  first  multicaulis  tree  in  the  United  States,  which  was 
planted  in  1826;  but  Dr.  Felix  Pascalis,  of  New  York,  was 
the  first  to  make  known  to  the  public  the  remarkably  rapid 
growth,  and  supposed  excellent  qualities,  of  the  tree ;  and  so 
may  be  said  to  have  opened  this  Pandora's  box,  from  which 
so  many  evils  escaped.  The  excitement  in  regard  to  the 
Morus  multicaulis  grew  steadily ;  slowly,  indeed,  at  first,  but 
increasing  with  a  geometrical  progression  until  1839,  when  it 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA.  30 

culminated  in  utter  ruin  to  the  cultivators.  The  shrewdest 
and  wariest  operators,  men  who  did  not  believe  in  its  loudly 
heralded  virtues,  were  fairly  carried  off  their  feet  by  the 
surging  tide  of  speculation.  The  young  trees  or  cuttings, 
which  were  sold  in  1834  or  1835  for  $3  or  $5  a  hundred, 
came  soon  to  be  worth  $25,  $50,  $100,  $200,  and  even  $500  a 
hundred.  The  writer  well  recollects  being  in  Northampton 
in  the  Spring  of  1839,  when  Mr.  Whitmarsh  and  Dr.  Stebbins 
were  rejoicing  over  the  purchase  of  a  dozen  multicaulis  cut- 
tings, not  more  than  two  feet  long  and  of  the  thickness  of  a 
pipe-stem,  for  $25.  They  are  worth  $60,"  exclaimed  the 
Doctor,  in  his  enthusiasm.  It  is  said  that  a  fiorist  and  nursery- 
man, on  Long  Island,  who  was  one  of  the  first  to  introduce 
the  tree  into  the  country,  though  he  had  no  particular  faith 
in  it,  devised  a  plan  for  enhancing  its  price.  He  had  sold 
small  quantities  to  nursery-men  in  Providence  and  Newport, 
and  several  of  the  Massachusetts  cities  and  large  towns ;  and 
one  day,  in  1835,  while  at  work  in  his  nursery,  he  determined 
to  make  a  bold  push  for  a  speculation.  Hastily  returning  to 
his  house  and  putting  up  a  change  of  apparel,  he  mounted  his 
sulky,  drove  into  New  York,  and  on  board  the  Providence 
boat.  Arriving  at  Newport,  he  landed,  drove  to  the  first 
nursery  there,  and  asked,  in  an  excited  way,  Have  you  any 
7nultica/nlis  trees  ''A  few,"  was  the  reply.  I  will  give 
you  fifty  cents  apiece  for  all  you  have,"  said  the  Long 
Islander.  The  nursery-man  thought  a  moment.      If,"  he  said 

to  himself,    Mr.  is  wilHng  to  give  that  price  for  them,  it 

is  because  he  knows  they  are  worth  more."    He  raised  his 

head,  "  I  don't  think  I  want  to  sell  what  few  I  have,  Mr.  ." 

Very  well,"  was  the  reply.  I  presume  I  can  get  them  for 
that,"  and  he  drove  off.  Every  nursery-man  who  was  known 
to  have  any  trees  in  Newport,  Providence,  Worcester,  Boston, 
or  the  towns  adjacent,  Springfield,  Northampton,  &c.,  was 
visited,  the  same  offer  made,  and  the  same  answer  returned. 

"  I  came  back,"  said  Mr.  ,  "  without  any  trees ;  but  you 

could  not  have  bought  multicaulis  trees,  in  any  of  the  towns 
I  had  visited,  for  a  dollar  apiece,  although  a  week  before  they 
would  have  been  fully  satisfied  to  have  obtained  twenty-five 


40 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Gents  apiece  for  them."  Yet  this  very  man,  shrewd  as  he  was, 
was  carried  off  his  feet  by  the  greatness  of  the  demand  which 
followed.  He  imported  large  quantities  from  France,  multi- 
phed  his  cuttings  by  all  the  devices  known  to  his  profession ; 
and  at  last,  so  enormous  were  his  sales,  that,  in  the  Winter  of 
1838-9,  he  sent  an  agent  to  France  with  $80,000  in  hand,  with 
orders  to  purchase  one  million  or  more  trees,  to  be  delivered 
in  the  Summer  and  Fall.  Before  the  whole  of  his  purchase 
had  arrived,  the  crisis  had  come.  The  nursery-man  had  failed 
for  so  large  a  sum  that  he  could  never  reckon  up  his  indebt- 
edness ;  and  the  next  Spring  his  miilticaulis  trees  were  offered 
in  vain  to  the  neighboring  farmers  at  a  dollar  a  hundred,  for 
pea-brush. 

Another  incident  related  of  the  speculation  was,  that  after 
the  crash  came  at  the  East,  some  of  the  largest  holders  of  the 
trees,  in  their  desire  to  get  them  off  their  hands,  chartered  a 
vessel  notoriously  unseaworthy,  loaded  her  with  the  miilti- 
caulis shrubs,  and  sent  the  cargo  by  way  of  New  Orleans  to 
Indiana,  insuring  it  in  one  of  the  marine  companies  at  a  high 
price.  Greatly  to  their  disappointment  the  vessel  reached 
New  Orleans  safely,  and  the  cargo  was  transshipped  at  an 
enormous  expense  to  river  boats,  and  when  the  trees  reached 
Indiana  they  found  no  one  who  was  willing  to  take  them  as  a 
gift.  This  discreditable  adventure  cost  the  shippers  a  large 
sum  of  money. 

The  times  were  rife  with  speculation.  The  great  panic  and 
disaster  of  1837  had  thrown  to  the  surface  many  restless,  un- 
scrupulous spirits,  who  were  willing  to  embark  in  any  enter- 
prise, however  daring  or  doubtful  its  character,  which  seemed 
to  promise  the  slightest  opportunity  of  regaining  the  fortunes 
they  had  lost.  Numbers  of  these  plunged  into  the  multicaii- 
lis  speculation,  and  made  it  more  disastrous  in  its  results  than 
it  otherwise  would  have  been ;  but  there  is  this  ground  of  con- 
solation in  regard  to  them,  that  not  one  of  them  escaped  the 
ruin  they  helped  to  bring  upon  others. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


41 


VIL 

Workers  m  Silk  Culture,  from  1825  to  1844. 

N  the  earlier  years  of  this  epoch  there  were  many 
men  of  honorable  and  patriotic  character,  who 
honestly  believed  that  by  some  of  the  measures 
proposed,  the  culture  and  production  of  silk  might 
become  a  national  industry,  and  who  demonstrat- 
ed their  faith  by  their  works.  Some  of  them 
were  men  of  moderate  or  large  fortune,  who 
expended  considerable  sums  to  promote  this  en- 
terprise, without  thought  of  personal  gain,  and 
only  for  the  furtherance  of  the  national  prosperity.  Among 
these  the  Hon.  Peter  S.  Duponceau  deserves,  perhaps,  the 
first  place.  Having  found  a  Frenchman,  J.  D'Homergue, 
who  was  an  intelligent,  skilful  and  competent  silk  manu- 
facturer, Mr.  Duponceau  took  him  under  his  care,  and 
aided  him  in  the  publication  of  a  series  of  essays  on  silk  cul- 
ture. Afterwards,  by  dint  of  his  personal  influence,  and  at  a 
great  cost  of  time  and  labor,  Mr.  Duponceau  brought  the 
matter  before  Congress  at  two  or  three  successive  sessions, 
asking  for  an  appropriation  of  about  $40,000  to  establish  a 
normal  filature  in  Philadelphia,  with  M.  D'Homergue  at  its 
head,  to  instruct  persons  in  the  art  of  reeling  silk,  who  might 
afterwards  instruct  others.  A  favorable  report  was  obtained 
in  Congress,  and  but  for  some  untoward  events  the  bill  would 
have  been  carried  through  both  houses.  Failing  in  this,  Mr. 
Duponceau  established  in  Philadelphia,  mostly  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, a  temporary  filature,  where  he  produced  some  very 
creditable  specimens  of  silk,  even  under  unfavorable  circum- 
stances ;  and  for  several  years  carried  on  an  extensive  corre- 
spondence with  other  persons  interested  in  silk  culture,  and 
not  infrequently  wrote  for  the  reviews,  periodicals  and  news- 
papers, articles  of  remarkable  ability  and  vigor  upon  different 


42 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


phases  of  the  subject.    Mr.  Duponceau  was  born  in  1760,  and 
consequently  was  already  past  seventy  years  of  age  when  he 
engaged  in  this  enterprise,  and  his  life  had  been  one  of  great 
activity.    He  expended  some  thousands  of  dollars  in  the  pro- 
motion of  the  silk  culture  and  reeling  of  silk,  and  continued 
his  efforts  to  that  end  till  1836  or  1837,  when,  finding  his  plans 
a  failure — in  part  from  the  prevalent  folly  in  regard  to  the  mul- 
ticaulis^  in  which  he  took  but  little  interest — he  withdrew  from 
his  silk  enterprises,  and  gave  up  his  filature  and  cocooneries. 
Mr.  Duponceau  opposed  the  views  of  those  who  desired  to 
see  manufactories  established  at  once.      To  do  this,"  he  said 
in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Cobb,  "  would  necessitate  the  importation 
of  raw  silk  from  France,  Italy,  or  China.    It  is  better  for  us 
to  wait  for  twenty  years  if  necessary,  till  we  can  make  a  per- 
fect raw  silk,  and  export  it  for  some  years  to  Europe,  than  to 
commence  manufacturing  too  soon.    It  will  be  longer  than 
that,  I  fear,  before  we  can  make  silk  enough  to  supply  our 
manufactories,  should  we  start  them."     Mr.  Duponceau's 
views  were  diametrically  opposed  to  those  of  our  manufac- 
turers of  the  present  day  ;  but  it  is  interesting  to  observe  how, 
from  points  of  view  so  diverse,  they  recognized  the  same  in- 
vincible obstacle  to  the  production  of  American  raw  silk.  The 
successful  reelmg  of  the  silk,  which  he  felt  to  be  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  the  American  production  of  silk,  has  continued  to 
be  an  obstacle  for  the  forty-five  years  and  more,  which  have 
elapsed  since  that  letter  was  written ;  and  while  the  silk  manu- 
facture has  become  a  necessity,  our  American  silk-growers 
are  no  better  able  to  supply  the  demand  for  the  silk  mills  now 
than  they  were  then. 

In  any  history  of  the  silk  industry  in  America  in  the  present 
century,  the  name  of  Jonathan  H.  Cobb,  of  Dedham,  must 
come  into  prominence.  He  has  been  for  many  years  past 
Probate  Judge  of  the  District  which  includes  his  birthplace. 
Judge  Cobb  had  not  Mr.  Duponceau's  ample  fortune,  nor 
perhaps  his  scholarship  and  peculiar  literary  abilities  ;  but  in 
his  way  he  contributed  as  much  or  more  than  any  other  man 
to  the  development  of  the  silk  culture.  He  had  been  engaged 
in  rearing  silk-worms  and  the  production  of  raw  silk  on  a 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


43 


small  scale,  certainly  as  early  as  1828.  He  had  invented  a 
reel,  which  was  very  much  better  than  that  previously  used 
in  Connecticut,  though  perhaps  not  equal  to  some  which 
were  devised  a  few  years  later.  He  had  also  been  in  corre- 
spondence with  Mr.  Duponceau,  and  with  others  interested 
in  silk  culture,  for  several  years.  His  success  had  attracted 
considerable  attention  in  Massachusetts.  In  December,  1830, 
Governor  Lincoln  called  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  to 
the  development  of  the  silk  culture,  and  suggested  that  the 
State  should  encourage  it.  The  Committee  on  Agriculture 
reported  in  favor  of  having  a  manual  prepared  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  silk-growers ;  and,  the  Legislature  concurring,  Gov. 
Lincoln  appointed  Mr.  Cobb  to  prepare  such  a  manual.  The 
Lesrislature  soon  afterward  ofifered  liberal  bounties  for  the 
production  of  raw  silk.  The  Manual  appeared  at  the  close 
of  1 83 1,  and  passed  through  a  number  of  editions,  being  re- 
peatedly enlarged.  Meantime  its  author  was  becoming  more 
and  more  interested  in  silk  culture.  He  not  only  extended 
his  cocooneries  and  reeling  apparatus,  and  spent  much  time 
in  lecturing  on  the  mulberry  and  the  rearing  of  silk-worms, 
but  in  1835,  with  the  participation  of  some  friends,  he  formed 
the  New  England  Silk  Company,  and  built  a  mill  at  Dedham 
capable  of  making  200  pounds  of  sewing-silk  per  week,  and 
manufacturing  also  some  silk  and  cotton  goods.  He  also  as- 
sisted in  establishing  the  Connecticut  Silk  Company,  at  Hart- 
ford, of  which  Christopher  Colt  was  president.  By  the 
bursting  of  the  viidticanlis  bubble,  in  1839,  a  heavy 

loser,  and  the  subsequent  depression  in  the  silk  and  all  other 
manufactures  led  to  his  bankruptcy  in  1840.  He,  however,  re- 
covered his  position  in  part,  and  though  he  had  resolved  to 
have  nothing  more  to  do  with  the  silk  business  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  he  was  for  a  time  connected  with  a  silk- 
manufacturing  company,  which  occupied  his  old  mill  at  Ded- 
ham, under  the  management  of  C.  Colt,  Jr.,  in  1843.  But 
on  the  destruction  of  the  mill  by  fire  in  1845,  Judge  Cobb 
abandoned  all  farther  connection  with  the  silk  industry,  in 
which  for  twenty  years  he  had  borne  an  active  and  distin- 
guished part.    Other  men  whose  names  deserve  to  be  em- 


44 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


balmed  in  this  record,  for  their  unwearied  efforts  to  promote 
an  industry  which  they  believed  essential  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  country,  were :  Dr.  Felix  Pascalis,  an  eminent  scientist 
in  New  York  City ;  the  Hon.  Andrew  Judson  of  Canterbury, 
Conn.,  already  alluded  to ;  the  Hon.  Gideon  B.  Smith  and 
the  Hon.  John  S.  Skinner,  both  of  Baltimore ;  the  Rev.  J.  R. 
Barbour  of  Oxford,  Mass. ;  Samuel  Whitmarsh  and  Dr. 
Daniel  Stebbins  of  Northampton,  Mass. ;  Judge  F.  G.  Com- 
stock  of  Hartford,  editor  of  the  Silk  Ciilturist ;  the  brothers 
Cheney,  of  South  Manchester,  Conn. ;  Edmund  Morris,  editor 
of  the  Silk  Record,  and  afterward  well  known  as  an  author ; 
John  Clarke  of  Philadelphia,  William  Kenrick  of  Newton, 
Mass.,  Zalmon  Storrs,  of  Mansfield,  Conn.,  and  perhaps  some 
others. 

Reference  should  here  be  made  to  the  silk-growers  of 
Windham  and  Tolland  Counties,  Conn. ;  and  especially  to 
those  of  Mansfield,  where,  for  a  longer  period  than  anywhere 
else  in  the  United  States,  the  silk  culture  was  persistently 
carried  on.  Mr.  Lilly,  in  his  historical  essay,  already  re- 
ferred to,  has  given  so  full  an  account  of  both  the  culture  and 
manufacture  in  Mansfield,  that  there  is  little  occasion  to  add 
to  his  narrative.  The  white  mulberry  had  been  so  thoroughly 
tested  at  Mansfield,  that  the  extravagant  expectations  of  silk- 
growers  elsewhere  from  the  miilticaulis  were  not  entertained 
there,  except  by  a  few.  Yet  the  extravagant  prices  at  which 
the  cuttings  were  sold  were  entirely  prohibitory  of  their  use 
to  feed  silk-worms,  since  the  cost  of  the  tree  was  more  than 
all  the  silk  that  could  be  made  from  it  would  be  worth. 
Thence  resulted  heavy  losses  to  purchasers  of  the  trees.  Nor 
did  the  evil  end  here.  After  the  bursting  of  the  miilticaulis 
bubble,  attention  was  directed  to  the  other  and  really  valu- 
able species  of  the  mulberry,  more  hardy  than  the  multicaulis 
or  even  the  whites,  such  as  the  Alpine  and  the  Brussia  or 
Broussa,  and  speculation  became  rife  in  these.  Mr.  Lilly 
gives  an  instance  which  came  within  his  own  knowledge, 
occurring  in  August,  1842,  where  two  trees  of  one  season's 
growth,  in  North  Windham,  Conn.,  were  sold  at  auction,  as 
they  stood  in  the  nursery,  the  first  bringing  $106  and  the 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


45 


second  $ioo;  the  remainder  of  the  lot  was  withdrawn  be- 
cause the  bidding  Avas  not  sufficiently  spirited  ! 

This  spirit  of  speculation  was  really  prejudicial  to  the  true 
interests  of  silk  culture;  and  when,  in  1844,  a  general  blight 
affected  all  the  mulberry  trees,  the  rearing  of  silk-worms  was 
abandoned  throughout  the  United  States ;  and  in  Mansfield, 
where  for  more  than  eighty  years  silk  culture  had  been  the 
principal  business  of  the  town,  there  were  no  more  cocoons 
of  native  growth  to  be  had.  The  mulberry  is  by  no  means 
an  uncommon  tree  in  the  Atlantic  and  Central  States,  most 
of  the  species  being  hardy,  except  in  very  severe  winters. 
The  Morns  multicaiilis  does  not  bear  the  New  England  or 
Northern  New  York  climate  well ;  but  this  is  of  little  conse- 
quence, as  experience  has  demonstrated  that  it  is  the  least 
valuable  of  the  mulberry  famil3\ 


46 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


VIII. 


Later  Efforts  at  Silk  Culture, 

INCE  1844,  no  effort  has  been  made  in  the  At- 
lantic States  to  rear  silk-worms  on  a  large  scale. 
There  have,  however,  not  been  wanting  advocates 
of  the  lost  art  who  have  urged  its  restoration  with 
much  of  the  old  enthusiasm  and  a  formidable 
array  of  argument  and  figures.  Among  these 
advocates,  in  recent  3^ears,  Dr.  Samuel  Chamber- 
laine,  of  Bryn  Mawr,  Montgomery  County,  Pa., 
deserves  a  word  of  praise  for  the  careful  collec- 
tion of  facts  bearing  on  the  subject,  in  his  Essay  on  Silk 
Culture  and  Home  Industry,  read  before  the  Social  Science 
Association,  at  its  meeting  in  1875.  From  i860  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  some  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  business  m  a  few 
of  the  Southern  States  and  in  California,  but  without  great 
success.  In  the  South  there  has  been  no  market  for  cocoons, 
and  little  possibility  of  reeling  the  silk  well.  In  the  vicinity 
of  New  Orleans,  mulberry  trees  abound,  and  there  are  many 
in  the  city  itself.  They  were  planted  by  the  early  colonists, 
and  probably  under  French  Government  instruction  or  pro- 
tection. In  these  trees  the  cocoons  of  the  wild  msect  are 
somewhat  plentiful.  From  1871  to  1874  an  Italian  named 
Roca  made  a  business  of  rearing  silk-worms  and  shipping  the 
eggs  and  cocoons  to  Italy.  His  invoices,  passed  by  the 
Italian  consul  at  New  Orleans,  during  1873-4,  are  said  to  have 
been  of  a  value  of  $10,000.  The  cocoons  were  adjudged  at 
Milan  superior  to  those  of  that  part  of  Italy,  and  three  crops 
of  cocoons  per  year  were  obtained  from  the  American  insect, 
while  only  two  were  yielded  by  the  Italian.  With  a  market 
for  the  cocoons,  it  might  not  be  diflicult  to  encourage  silk 
culture  in  Louisiana,  though  some  practical  observers  have 
pronounced  the  climate  too  damp  for  success.  In  California, 
the  demand  has  been  so  large  for  silk-worm  eggs,  mainly 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


47 


for  exportation,  that  only  a  little  silk  has  been  made. 
Louis  Prevost,  a  botanist  from  Normandy,  France,  com- 
menced planting  mulberry  trees  m  San  Jose,  in  1856,  and 
attempted  to  procure  silk- worm  eggs  soon  afterward.  Meet- 
ing with  no  encouragement  (the  people  being  so  fully  occu- 
pied in  gold  mining),  he  abandoned  it  for  a  time  ;  but  in  i860 
or  1 86 1  procured  silk- worm  eggs  and  entered  m  earnest  upon 
the  culture  of  silk.  He  raised  three  species  of  mulberry  trees, 
the  Mortis  alba,  or  white,  the  M  multicaiilis,  and  the  M.  vwrctta, 
01  these  he  gave  the  preference,  as  most  of  the  Californians 
do,  to  the  white  mulberry.  A,  M  Miiller,  o\  San  Jose,  also 
entered  upon  the  business,  in  1861,  in  connection  with  M. 
Prevost.  They  made  no  silk  of  any  consequence  in  1865,  there 
being  a  constant  demand  for  the  eggs.  Having  in  ends  who 
were  familiar  with  all  the  processes  of  silk  culture,  M.  Prevost 
succeeded  in  reeling  his  silk  very  well,  and  sent  samples  of 
the  raw  silk  to  Europe,  where  they  were  favorably  received. 
In  1866,  Joseph  Neumann,  a  German  silk-weaver,  com- 
menced raising  silk-worms  and  manufacturing  silk  m  the 
vicinity  of  San  Francisco;  and  soon  afterward,  Felix  Gillet, 
also  a  French  silk-grower,  entered  upon  the  business  at  Ne- 
vada City.  M.  Neumann  raised,  in  1869,  enough  cocoons  to 
make  130  pounds  of  raw  silk,  from  which  he  wove  two  very 
beautiful  United  States  fiags,  one  ol  which  he  presented  to 
the  United  States  Government,  and  the  other  to  the  State  of 
California.  He  also  made  many  smaller  articles.  One  of 
these  flags  forms  part  of  Mc  Neumann's  display  at  the  Cen- 
tennial Exhibition ;  a  display  which  includes  all  the  processes 
of  silk  culture,  and  even  the  live  insects.  California  voted 
a  bounty  of  $250  for  every  5,000  mulberry  trees  planted, 
and  also  for  every  100,000  cocoons  produced  in  the  State. 
But  these  provisions  were  so  greatly  perverted  by  specula- 
tors who  planted  millions  of  the  worthless  multicaulis  trees, 
that  the  bounty  was  repealed  the  next  year.  M.  Prevost 
died  in  1869.  The  demand  for  silk-worm  eggs  was  checked 
during  the  Franco-German  War,  but  has  since  revived,  and 
is  now  so  large  that,  though  there  are  several  silk-mills  in 
California,  they  are  entirely  supplied  with  imported  raw  silk, 


48 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


while  the  export  of  silk-worm  eggs  amounts  to  a  value  ot 
many  thousands  of  dollars  annually. 

A  promismg  enterprise  has  been  undertaken  at  SiikviUe, 
Franklm  County,  Kansas,  by  E.  de  Boissiere,  a  French 
gentleman  of  means,  who  has  set  his  heart  upon  surrounding 
his  chosen  home  with  a  colony  of  operatives  emploved  in  silk 
culture  and  manufacture.  Details  concerning  his  factory  will 
be  given  m  another  chapter.  He  designs  raising  his  own 
silk ,  and  with  that  view  planted  mulberry  seed  during  the 
Spring  of  1870,  and  in  the  following  year  set  out  also  ten 
thousand  young  mulberry  trees  obtained  from  France;  so 
that  now  he  has  abundant  material  for  feeding  silk-worms. 
In  respect  to  the  insects  themselves  he  has  not  been  so 
fortunate.  His  earlier  ventures  in  silk-worm  eggs  procured 
from  France  developed  insects  suffering  probably  Irom pebriyie, 
and  they  did  not  produce  a  supply  of  good  cocoons.  Experi- 
ments with  smaller  lots  of  Japanese  eggs  gave  better  results; 
but  as  yet  AL  de  Boissiere  has  not  made  the  culture  a  success. 
He  is,  however,  very  hopeful ,  and  while  he  has  temporarily 
given  his  villagers  employment  in  other  pursuits,  he  is  not 
among  those  who  fear  that  the  high  price  of  labor  at  the 
West  cannot  be  counteracted  bv  economy  and  ingenious  de- 
vice. He  still  believes  that  the  silk  which  shall  supply  his 
mill  will  be  raised  in  and  around  SilkviUe.  Some  of  the 
more  sanguine  silk-growers  of  California  have  proposed  to 
employ  Chinese  labor  in  reeling,  winding^  cleaning,  doubling 
and  throwing  the  silk.  But  even  this  labor  is  too  dear  to 
compete  with  that  of  China  and  Japan,  or  perhaps  with  the 
peasant  labor  of  France  or  Italy,  in  a  business  in  which 
machinery  cannot  take  the  place  of  trained  and  skilled  hand- 
labor.  In  China  or  Japan,  the  skilled  labor  of  the  artisan, 
inherited  through  more  than  thirty  centuries  of  the  same  kind 
of  toil,  is  amply  repaid  by  from  five  to  ten  cents  a  day :  a  sum 
which  provides  a  daily  abundance  of  food  for  a  large  famll3^ 
A  good  reeler  there  will  reel  perfectly  from  one  and  a-half  to 
two  pounds  of  silk  in  a  week,  and  is  satisfied  with  receiving 
eight  or  ten  cents  a  day.  Here,  even  the  poorest  Chinese 
reeler  would  demand  from  75  cents  to  $1  a  day.    None  of 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


49 


our  Yankee  girls  would  be  willing"  to  undertake  it,  though 
perfectly  ignorant  of  the  process,  for  less  than  a  dollar  a  da}^ 
The  waste  from  incompetent  help  would  be  very  much  larger 
than  from  the  reeling  of  a  skilled  artisan. 

There  is  at  least  one  alternative.  Our  friends  who  are 
determined  to  raise  silk-worms  can  do  so  profitably  in  one 
way,  and  only  in  one,  at  present.  There  is  a  good  market, 
and  is  likely  to  be  for  years  to  come,  if  it  is  not  glutted,  for 
silk-worm  eggs  in  France  and  Italy,  where  for  some  years  a 
contagious  disease  has  made  sad  havoc  with  the  native  worms. 
The  needs  of  that  market  will  iurnish  employment  for  a 
reasonable  number  of  silk-growers,  who  can  meantime  also 
supply  the  home  demand  for  these  eggs,  while  the  pierced 
cocoons  will  find  a  ready  sale^  though  at  a  lower  price,  to 
our  manufacturers  who  are  producing  spun  silk.  The  time 
may  come,  and  probably  will,  when  that  market  will  be  fully 
supplied .  but  by  that  time  there  may  be  such  changes  in  the 
value  of  the  raw  silk,  or  such  improvements  in  automatic 
machinery,  that  raw  silk  can  be  produced  here  at  a  profit. 

Our  description  of  silk  culture  in  America  would  be  incom- 
plete without  a  notice,  however  brief,  ot  its  development  in 
Brazil.  A  fair  conception  of  what  is  accomplished  in  that  em- 
pire in  the  way  of  producing  silk»  may  be  obtained  by  visitors 
to  the  Centennial  Exhibition,  from  the  display  ot  Luis  de  Re- 
sende,  a  producer  and  exhibitor  ot  raw  silk,  and  the  represen- 
tative of  the  Society  of  "  The  Union  of  Exhibitors  of  Brazil." 
M.  de  Resende  has  presented  the  industry  in  a  most  attrac- 
tive form,  showing  the  100,000  mulberry  trees  that  constitute 
his  plantation,  and  exhibiting  the  silk-insect  in  all  stages  of 
its  growth  and  labors.  More  interesting,  however,  than  even 
this  display,  is  the  lively  interest  which  M,  de  Resende  takes 
in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  care  and  cultivation  of  the 
insect  and  its  food,  and  the  intelligent  observation  which  he 
brings  to  bear  upon  the  subject. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


IX. 

Organized  Silk  Manufacture  in  America, 

E  HAVE  SAID,  perhaps,  as  much  as  is  ap- 
propriate concerning  the  domestic  manufac- 
ture of  silk,  in  our  account  of  its  early  cul- 
ture. The  rulers  of  Mexico,  in  the  early  years 
of  the  present  century,  introduced  both  the 
culture  of  silk  and  the  manufacture  of  an  ex- 
cellent article  of  sewing-silk  into  that  country, 
procuring  skilled  manufacturers  and  culturists 
from  France  to  instruct  the  natives.  In  the  frequent  revolutions 
and  political  disturbances  with  which  that  unhappy  country 
has  since  been  afflicted,  both  the  culture  and  manufacture 
have  probably  been  abandoned ;  though  no  region  in  the 
world,  except  perhaps  California,  is  better  adapted  by  climate 
and  temperature  to  make  it  profitable,  than  some  portions  of 
Mexico. 

Aside  from  some  special  cases  of  weaving  or  manufacturing 
silk  goods  as  samples  of  American  products,  there  was  prob- 
ably no  other  than  the  domestic  manufacture  of  anything  in 
the  way  of  silk,  until  1810,  when  Rodney  and  Horatio  Hanks, 
the  latter  the  inventor  of  the  double  wheel-head  already  men- 
tioned, erected  at  Mansfield,  Connecticut,  the  first  silk  mill  on 
this  continent.  They  attempted  the  manufacture  of  sewing- 
silk  and  twist  by  means  of  machinery  made  by  themselves,  and 
propelled  by  water-power.  The  mill  was  a  very  small  affair; 
its  size  was  12  by  12  ieet.  In  1814,  these  two  enterprising  me- 
chanics having  associated  with  themselves  Harrison  Holland 
and  John  Gilbert,  built  a  larger  mill  at  Gurleyville,  Connecti- 
cut; but  the  new  mill  failed  of  any  considerable  success,  and 
was  finally  given  up.  In  1821  Rodney  Hanks  built  another 
sewing-silk  mill  at  Mansfield,  and  associated  his  son  George  R. 
Hanks  with  him.    This  mill  was  maintained  till  1828,  when  it 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


51 


was  finally  abandoned ;  the  failure  of  this  and  the  preceding 
enterprises  being  due  to  the  crudeness  of  the  machinery  and 
the  imperfect  appliances  for  reeling. 

The  next  effort  in  the  way  of  silk  manufacture  was  made 
by  William  H.  Horstmann,  a  native  of  Cassel,  Germany, 
who  came  to  America  in  181 5.  He  established  himself  at 
Philadelphia,  in  the  manufacture  of  trimmings  wholly  or  par- 
tially of  silk,  to  which  were  subsequently  added  narrow  goods, 
belt  and  other  ribbons,  plaited  and  braided  goods,  fringes, 
military  and  naval  sashes,  epaulets,  &c.  Mr.  Horstmann  had 
learned  the  art  of  silk  weaving  in  France ;  and  after  com- 
ing to  this  country  he  added  machinery  for  plaiting,  braiding 
and  fringe-cutting.  Many  other  machines  for  different 
branches  of  the  silk  manufacture  were  invented  by  him.  He 
was  the  first  manufacturer  in  this  country  to  introduce  the 
Jacquard  loom,  of  which  he  made  use  as  early  as  1824.  In 
1837-38  his  son,  William  J.  Horstmann,  manufactured  power- 
looms  of  his  own  designing,  and  introduced  power-loom 
weaving  for  narrow  textile  fabrics,  simultaneously  with  its 
adoption  in  Switzerland.  W.  H.  Horstmann  had  married 
the  daughter  of  Mr.  Hoeckly,  a  German  manufacturer,  who 
Avas  established,  as  early  as  1793,  at  Philadelphia,  as  a  maker 
of  coach  lace,  fringe  and  tassels.  Mr.  Horstmann  died  in 
1852,  leaving  his  business  to  his  sons,  Wm.  J.  &  Sigmund 
H.  Horstmann.  Wm.  li.  Horstmann  &  Sons  are  the  oldest 
and  one  of  the  largest  silk  manufacturing  houses  now  existing 
in  this  country.  Their  warehouses  and  salesrooms  in  Phila- 
delphia are  of  great  extent,  and  filled  with  valuable  and  beau- 
tiful goods.  It  is  impossible  to  present,  without  an  extended 
catalogue,  any  clear  notion  of  the  number  and  variety  of  the 
manufactures  of  this  firm ;  the  whole  range  of  narrow  textile 
fabrics  is  included.  At  the  exhibitions  of  the  Franklin  and 
of  the  American  Institute,  the  displays  of  Wm.  H.  Horst- 
mann &  Sons  have  justly  won  the  highest  commendations  and 
awards  ;  their  bindings,  braids,  fringes  and  dress  trimmings 
called  forth  complimentary  notices  ;  and  the  specialties  of 
the  firm,  such  as  coach  laces,  tassel  cords,  undertakers'  and 
upholsterers'  trimmings,  deserved  and  obtained  substantial 


52 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


praise.  Besides  the  articles  we  have  named,  the  firm  pro- 
duces all  sorts  of  military  equipments  and  trappings,  the 
regalia  of  societies,  and  theatrical  goods,  including  hundreds 
of  things  to  which  the  silk  that  adorns  them  may  be  a  mere 
adjunct ;  since  among  them  are  crowns,  jewelry,  weapons, 
ornaments,  masks,  fancy  costumes,  and  all  the  glittering  para- 
phernalia of  the  lodge-room  and  the  stage. 

In  1829  a  manufactory  of  silk  ribbons  from  American  silks 
was  started  in  Baltimore,  but  had  only  a  brief  existence.  In 
1827-8  the  Mansfield  (Conn.)  Silk  Company  was  formed.  This 
vigorous  undertaking  aroused,  far  and  near,  an  interest  in  the 
industry,  both  as  to  culture  and  manufacture.  It  stimulated 
the  efforts  of  the  other  pioneers  in  the  business,  and  made  a 
permanent  impression  as  to  the  solid  reality  of  the  silk  manu- 
facture in  this  country.  The  partners  were  Alfred  Lilly, 
Joseph  Conant,  William  A.  Fisk,  William  Atwood,  Storrs 
Hovey  and  Jesse  Bingham.  We  shall  meet  nearly  all  of 
these  names  in  subsequent  pages  of  this  history,  for  they 
have  been  identified  in  one  way  or  another  with  numerous 
enterprises  in  the  silk  manufacture.  The  Company  was  in- 
corporated by  the  Connecticut  Legislature  in  1829.  While 
it  was  a  part  of  the  Company's  purpose  to  encourage  the 
production  of  silk,  its  efforts  were  especially  directed  to 
the  improvement  of  the  methods  and  machinery  for  reel- 
ing and  "throwing,"  and  to  the  manufacture  of  a  better 
article  of  sewing-silk.  Its  first  successful  machinery  was  made 
by  Mr.  Lilly,  in  accordance  with  the  descriptions  and  rude 
drawings  of  Edmund  Golding,  a  young  English  "  throwster," 
who  came  to  this  country  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  expect- 
ing to  find  employment  in  his  particular  branch  of  the 
business.  The  great  difficulty  was  in  reeling.  It  was  not 
until  a  year  or  more  after  the  concern  had  started  in  business 
that,  by  the  advice  and  instruction  of  Mr.  Brown,  an  English 
silk  manufacturer  who  had  just  commenced  business  in 
Boston,  they  were  able  to  construct  a  reel  which  did  its  work 
satisfactorily.  It  was  worked  by  water-power,  and  not  by 
hand,  like  the  reels  of  Messrs.  Cobb,  Gideon  Smith,  Morris, 
Duponceau,  and  others.    The  reeling  was  successful,  and 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


53 


"  the  Company  advertised  their  wilUngness  to  purchase  all 
the  cocoons  that  might  be  offered,  and  their  purchases  were 
large."    .    .    .      The  native  silk  was  found  to  be  of  superior 
quality  and  strength,  winding  and  doubling  with  greater 
facility  and  less  waste  than  China  or  Brutia  silk."*  Encour- 
aged by  their  success,  and  the  demand  which  now  sprung  up 
for  American  sewing-silk,  though  the  colors  and  evenness  of 
it  were  not  yet  perfect,  the  Company  committed  a  very 
natural,  but,  as  the  event  proved,  a  very  grave  error.  They 
sought  to  become  silk  culturists  on  a  large  scale,  as  well  as 
silk  manufacturers.    They  leased  land  at  numerous  points  in 
Connecticut  and  adjacent  States,  planted  large  mulberry  or- 
chards, and  entrusted  to  their  agents  the  rearing  of  silk- 
worms.   They  also  applied  to  the  Legislature,  in  1832,  asking 
State  aid  for  encouraging  the  culture  and  manufacture  of  silk. 
A  bounty  of  $1,500  was  granted  to  the  Company,  and  pre- 
miums were  offered  for  raising  mulberry  trees  and  for  reeling 
silk.     They  soon  attempted  silk  weaving,  but  their  ma- 
chiner}"  was  not  well  adapted  to  the  work.    An  ingenious 
mechanic  in  Mansfield,  Nathan  Rixford,  had  already  made 
improvements  in  the  machinery  for  winding,  doubling,  and 
spinning,   which    were   eagerly  purchased   by  competing 
companies,  and  which  distanced  theirs.    I'heir  capital  was 
too  small,  and  the  experiments  they  made  in  the  culture  of 
silk  were  unwise  and  expensive.    Mr.  Lilly,  the  originator  of 
the  Company,  withdrew  from  it  in  1835,  and  three  of  the  other 
five  partners  in  1839;  ^^^^  ^^^^  Company  dissolved  the  same 
year,  though  they  let  their  establishment  to  others,  who  car- 
ried on  the  silk  manufacture  for  a  time.    Notwithstanding  the 
misfortunes  which  closed  their  career,  the  Mansfield  Silk 
Company  is  fairly  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  built  the 
first  mill  in  this  country  in  which  the  manufacture  of  silk  was 
practically  successful.    We  present  on  an  adjoining  page  an 
engraving,  giving  a  view  of  this  mill  (at  Gurleyville).  The 
original  ol  the  engraving  is  a  water-color  picture  by  C.  C. 
Burleigh,  Jr.,  an  artist  of  distinction.    It  is  not  in  the  least  a 
fancy  sketch,  its  truthfulness  being  vouched  for. 

Mr.  A.  T.  Lilly's  "Silk  Industry  of  the  United  States,  from  1766  to  1874," 


54 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


In  1829  or  1830,  two  Frenchmen  exhibited  at  North  Mans- 
field, Conn.,  what  they  called  a  Piedmont  silk  reel,  and,  in  the 
presence  of  a  considerable  number  of  people,  reeled  silk  upon 
it  from  cocoons.  Soon  afterward,  a  similar  reel  was  started 
at  Shubael  Dimock's  cocoonery,  in  North  Mansfield.  Ehpha- 
let  Snow  made  and  patented  an  improvement  on  this  reel  in 
Mansfield  soon  afterward,  and  sold  a  number  of  reels,  but 
Nathan  Rixford  (see  above)  produced  a  still  better  one  which 
was  largely  sold  ;  and  some  years  later,  as  we  shall  see  further 
on,  some  of  his  reels  were  sent  to  China  for  introduction 
and  use.  Improvements  were  also  made  in  the  Piedmont  reel 
by  Gideon  B.  Smith,  of  Baltimore,  and  J.  H.  Cobb,  of  Ded- 
ham,  Mass.,  of  whom  more  will  be  said  by-and-by.  Mr. 
Rixford,  in  1838,  made  also  great  improvements  in  machinery 
for  spinning  silk  in  his  Friction  Roller  Mill,"  built  for  Ralph 
Cheney,  of  Cheney  Brothers,  and  for  Aaron  Mitchell,  of  Nan- 
tucket. Two  silk  banners,  each  twelve  feet  long  and  six 
feet  wide,  woven  from  Pennsylvania  silk,  b}^  J.  D'Homergue, 
and  some  other  silk  goods  of  the  same  silk,  were  exhibited  at 
the  Fair  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  in  1830. 

Without  adhering  very  closely  to  a  chronological  arrange- 
ment, we  may  conveniently  refer  to  manufacturing  enterprises 
in  the  order  of  their  inception.  We  find  that  John  McRae 
commenced,  in  1830,  the  manufacture  of  silk  fringes,  tassels, 
&c.,  in  New  York  City.  In  1852,  the  firm  was  changed  to 
Thomas  C.  McRae  &  Co.,  and  silk  ribbons,  silk  braids,  and 
elastic  cords,  were  added  to  their  manufactures.  They  con- 
tinued in  business  till  1866. 

At  least  a  hundred  years  ago,  near  Northampton,  Mass., 
then  an  agricultural  village  of  historic  fame  in  struggles  with 
the  Indians,  a  building  was  erected  which  was  ever  afterwards 
known  as  the  old  oil  mill."  The  village  of  Florence,  now 
containing  3,000  inhabitants,  which  has  since  grown  up  around 
the  mill,  had  then  no  existence.  Its  site  is  on  the  Mill  River, 
a  stream  made  memorable  in  1874  by  the  bursting  of  the  WiU 
liamsburgh  reservoir.  The  engraving  of  the  Old  Oil  Mill" 
which  we  present,  is  (as  well  as  that  of  the  mill  at  Gurley  ville, 
Conn.)  reproduced  from  a  painting  by  Mr.  Burleigh.  The 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


55 


millstones  still  remaining  by  the  roadside  arc  a  record  of  the 
early  uses  of  the  building,  which,  after  doing  good  service  in 
its  original  capacity,  was  for  some  years  occupied  as  a  grist- 
mill. About  1832,  under  the  direction  of  Samuel  Whitmarsh, 
this  building  was  put  in  order  for  receiving  silk  machinery, 
made  by  Nathan  Rixford,  who  has  been  already  mentioned 
in  this  history.  Mr.  Whitmarsh  at  this  period  outran  all  his 
compeers  in  enthusiasm  concerning  silk  culture  and  manu- 
facture. He  had  accumulated  about  $25,000  in  New  York 
city,  while  in  partnership  with  Mr.  St.  John,  in  the  tailoring 
business,  in  Broadway,  opposite  the  old  City  Hotel.  He 
went  to  Northampton,  in  1830,  bought  land  there  and  built 
a  mansion,  now  owned  by  Edward  Lyman,  of  the  firm  of  A. 
A.  Low  &  Bros.  Attached  to  this  building  were  two  hot- 
houses, each  TOO  feet  long,  for  raising  mulberry  trees  in 
winter.  Such  was  Mr.  Whitmarsh's  faith  in  the  scheme  that 
he  spent  all  the  money  he  had  upon  it. 

Mr.  Whitmarsh  succeeded  in  impressing  his  own  enthusiasm 
upon  others,  and  induced  several  gentlemen  of  Middletown, 
Conn.,  to  take  stock  in  his  new  enterprise,  the  New  York 
and  Northampton  Silk  Company."  Among  these  investors 
were  Augustus  and  Samuel  Russell,  who  had  established  in 
China  the  firm  of  Russell  &  Co.,  the  leading  American  house 
in  that  empire.  The  New  York  and  Northampton  Silk  Com- 
pany was  formed  in  1833-4.  They  erected  a  brick  buildmg, 
to  supersede  the  old  oil  mill.  Broad  plantations  were  stocked 
with  mulberry  trees,  and  extensive  preparations  made  for  a 
large  supply  of  raw  silk.  The  supply  was,  however,  always 
deficient.  Some  specimens  of  watch  ribbons,  satin  vests,  &c., 
were  made  by  this  concern.  Henry  Clay,  Daniel  Webster 
and  A.  A.  Lawrence  were  each  presented  with  a  heavy  black 
satin  vest  pattern,  and  they  evinced  a  lively  interest  in  the 
success  of  the  enterprise.  Samuel  Whitmarsh  was  the  leader 
in  this  undertaking ;  he  became  President  of  the  Company  in 
1835.  He  went  to  Europe  in  the  following  years,  to  obtain 
information  respecting  silk  culture;  and  early  in  1839  pub- 
lished, through  the  press  of  J.  H.  Butler,  of  Northampton,  a 
work  entitled,     Eight  Years'  Experience  and  Observation  in 


56 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


the  Culture  of  the  Mulberry  Tree  and  in  the  Care  of  the  Silk- 
worm ;  with  Remarks  adapted  to  the  American  System  of 
Producing  Raw  Silk  for  Exportation.  By  Samuel  Whit- 
marsh." 

The  crash  came  soon  after  the  collapse  of  the  multicaulis 
speculation.  I  shall  make  this  year  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  before  next  Winter:"  so  said  Mr.  Whit- 
marsh,  in  the  Summer  of  1839,  John  Ryle,  (now  of  Pater- 
son,  N.  J.,)  then  a  weaver  in  his  employ.  Before  that  Winter 
was  past,  Mr.  Whitmarsh  had  neither  cash  nor  credit  enough 
to  buy  a  barrel  of  flour.  The  Company,  however,  eventually 
paid  all  its  debts,  having  sunk  not  less  than  $100,000. 

Mr.  Whitmarsh  had  undiminished  faith  in  the  silk  industry, 
even  after  the  failure  of  the  Company.  He  then  went  to  the 
West  Indies,  and  on  the  island  of  Jamaica  had  iron  buildings^ 
sent  thither  from  London,  erected  as  a  factory.  A  mulberry 
plantation  of  300  acres  was  set  out ;  but  a  great  disaster  over- 
took Mr.  Whitmarsh.  He  had  invested  the  larger  part  of 
his  fortune  in  silk-worm  eggs,  and  by  the  carelessness  of  the 
consignees  at  Kingston  the  whole  invoice  was  destroyed  after 
safe  arrival  on  the  island.  The  want  of  raw  silk  prevented 
the  realization  of  his  hopes,  although  he  demonstrated  the 
practicability  of  both  the  culture  and  the  manufacture  by 
negro  labor.  He  had  fifty  reels  ready  to  run  by  steam,  but 
never  got  silk  enough  for  more  than  two  of  them.  Some  of 
the  product  of  these  reels  was  submitted,  by  a  Committee  of 
the  British  House  of  Commons,  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  and 
was  by  the  latter  pronounced  equal  to  Barcelona  silk.  Mr. 
Whitmarsh  lost  money  in  silk  enterprises,  but  never  faith ; 
and  shortly  before  his  death,  in  1875,  "^^as  seriously  consider- 
ing a  project  for  silk  culture  in  California. 

The  period  from  1831  to  1839  ^^'^^  prolific  in  the  formation 
of  silk  manufacturing  companies — some  of  them  started  by 
speculators — which  had  with  few  exceptions  a  brief  existence. 
Among  the  new  concerns  were  the  Connecticut  Silk  Manu- 
facturing Company,  incorporated  at  Hartford,  in  1835,  which 
received  a  bonus  of  about  $11,000  net,  from  a  bank  charter; 
it  was  managed  by  Christopher  Colt  and  J.  H.  Hayden.  The 


Mills  of  the  Nonotuck  Silk  Company,  Florence,  Mass. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


57 


former  being  the  largest  stockholder,  was  President  and 
Agent ;  the  latter  became  book-keeper  and  general  assistant. 
The  business  was  not  fortunately  managed  after  Mr.  Hayden 
left  it,  and  it  collapsed  in  1838,  having  sunk  its  entire  capital. 
Mr.  Hayden  in  1838,  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Haskell,  estab- 
lished a  silk  mill  at  Windsor  Locks,  Conn.  The  business  con- 
tinues to  the  present,  and  is  now  in  the  name  of  J.  H.  Hayden 
and  Son.  The  Atlantic  Silk  Company,  of  Nantucket,  and  the 
Poughkeepsie  Silk  Company,  of  Poughkeepsie,  went  down  in 
1839,  having  completely  sunk  their  capital.  Mr.  Cobb's  silk 
mill  at  Dedham,  the  New  York  and  Northampton  Company, 
the  Morodendron  Silk  Company  of  Philadelphia,  and  one  or 
two  companies  in  Mansfield,  formed  part  of  the  list  of  those 
that  failed  in  1840  or  1841  ;  but  several  other  companies, 
which  had  begun  in  a  small  way  in  1836- 1840,  grew  up,  and 
some  of  them  entered  into  the  labors  of  the  pioneer  companies 
with  advantage. 

After  the  withdrawal  of  Samuel  Whitmarsh  from  the  New 
York  and  Northampton  Silk  Company,  that  concern  obtained 
the  services  of  Captain  Joseph  Conant  to  manage  their  mills 
at  Northampton  and  Florence.  Captain  Conant's  connection 
with  the  business  of  silk  manufacturing  dated  from  1827-8; 
after  the  failure  of  the  Mansfield  Silk  Co.  he  was  associated 
with  William  Atwood  and  Harvey  Crane  in  making  sewing- 
silk  and  twist ;  when  leaving  them  to  go  to  Northampton,  he 
took  with  him  their  foreman,  Dwight  Swift.  By  the  end  of 
1840  the  effort  to  keep  the  Northampton  and  Florence  con- 
cerns going,  even  under  Capt.  Conant's  management,  was 
evidently  hopeless.  The  Company  decided  to  sell  out  and 
close. 

Captain  Conant  then  associated  himself  with  S.  L.  Hill, 
George  W.  Benson  and  William  Adams,  whom  he  interested 
in  the  project,  and  these  four  bought  the  property  ;  the  con- 
veyance was  made  in  the  Fall  of  1841.  The  real  estate  was  a 
farm  of  300  acres,  mill  buildings,  water-power,  &c.,  at  what 
is  now  Florence.  In  the  following  Spring  the  purchasers  or- 
ganized as  the  Northampton  Association  or  Community,  and 
undertook  to  carry  out  a  communistic  system  at  table ;  in 


58 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AiMERlCA. 


farming- ;  in  silk  culture  and  manufacture  ;  and  as  to  the  owner- 
ship of  property.  This  experiment  proved  a  financial  failure. 
In  1844  they  sold  what  remained  of  the  property  to  S.  L. 
Hill,  who  thus  became  sole  proprietor. 

Mr.  Hill  offered  the  land  at  Florence  to  all  who  were  will- 
ing to  settle  there  on  homesteads,  reserving  only  sufficient  of 
the  real  estate,  water-power  and  buildings,  to  carry  on  the  silk 
manufacture.  He  also  interested  S.  L.  Hinckley,  a  capitalist 
of  Northampton,  as  a  silent  partner  in  a  new  undertaking, 
based  on  the  ruins ;  it  was  known  as  the  "  Nonotuck  Steam 
Mill,"  S.  L.  Hill,  Agent.  Nonotuck  was  the  Indian  name  for 
Northampton.  Subsequently  others  joined  the  enterprise  and 
the  Nonotuck  Silk  Company  was  formed,  Mr.  Hinckley  being 
President  and  Mr.  Hill,  Treasurer.  The  business  of  this 
Company  has  steadily  increased,  and  new  buildings  have 
been  erected  from  time  to  time,  till  they  now  form  the  group 
shown  in  the  engraving  on  an  adjoining  page.  The  floor 
space  which  these  cover  is  nearly  60,000  ieet.  They  are 
wholly  occupied  in  the  manufacture  of  sewing-silk  and  twist. 
The  "  Corticelli"  brand  of  sewing-silk  is  famous.  This  Com- 
pany succeeded,  after  repeated  trials,  in  manufacturing  the 
first  machine-twist  produced.  Sales  were  made  to  I.  M. 
Singer,  the  inventor  of  the  Singer  sewing-machine,  as  early 
as  February,  1852.  At  present  600  operatives  are  employed 
by  the  Company,  and  100,000  pounds  of  raw  silk  are  annually 
consumed.  The  officers  are  Ira  Dimock,  President,  A.  T. 
Lilly,  Treasurer. 

Another  prosperous  house  which  grew  from  these  earlier 
undertakings  is  the  present  firm  of  O.  S.  Chaffee  &  Son,  the 
senior  Mr.  Chaffee  being  Capt.  Joseph  Conant's  son-in-law, 
and  having  taken  an  interest  in  the  business  as  early  as  1838, 
at  Mansfield,  Conn.  After  the  Community  experiment,  Capt. 
Conant  built  and  started  the  mill  situated  between  Florence 
and  Northampton,  now  owned  by  Warner  &  Lathrop.  Capt. 
Conant's  firm  was  then  J.  Conant  &  Co.,  D wight  Swift  and 
O.  S.  Chaffee  forming  the  Company.  In  1852,  Capt.  Conant 
built  the  "  Conant  Mill,"  at  Conantville,  Conn.  For  nearly 
half  a  century  Capt.  Conant's  name  was  prominent  in  silk 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


59 


interests,  and  he  took  an  active  share  in  urging  the  protection 
of  the  manufacture  by  a  suitable  tariff.  O.  S.  Chaffee  is  one 
of  the  oldest  of  silk  manufacturers  actively  engaged  in  the 
business.  Tha  goods  of  his  firm  have  always  been  distin- 
guished for  uniform  excellence. 

Mr.  Dale  and  Mr.  Hayden,  subsequently  distinguished  as 
manufacturers,  took  their  first  lessons  in  the  art  under  the 
Connecticut  Silk  Manufacturing  Company.  In  1834,  B.  B. 
Tilt,  who  has  since  occupied  so  prominent  a  place  in  connec- 
tion with  the  manufacture  of  silk,  first  took  an  active  part  in 
it  by  commencing  the  manufacturing  of  ladies'  dress  trim- 
mings in  Boston.  The  firm  was  soon  changed  to  B.  B.  Tilt 
&  Co.,  and  later  to  Tilt  &  Dexter.  In  1855,  Mr.  Dexter  and 
his  associates  bought  out  Mr.  Tilt's  interest,  and  organized 
the  house  of  Dexter,  Lambert  &  Co.,  at  first  at  Boston,  from 
whence  they  removed  to  Paterson,  N.  J.,  in  1867.  This  house 
is  still  largely  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  dress  trimmings 
and  ribbons.  Mr.  Tilt  organized,  in  1862  or  1863,  the  Phoenix 
Silk  Manufacturing  Company,  at  Paterson,  of  which  he  is 
President.  This  has  been  one  of  the  largest  silk  manufactories 
in  the  country,  producing  silk  piece-goods,  handkerchiefs, 
ribbons,  trams,  organzines,  &c.,  &c. 


6o 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


TJie  Growth  of  a  Mamfacturing  Village. 

T  was  in  the  midst  of  the  wild  speculation  of  the 
viultica7ilis  fever,  and  the  disasters  which  followed 
the  bursting  of  that  stupendous  bubble,  that  the 
largest  and  most  celebrated  of  our  manufactories 
of  silk  goods  had  its  birth.  The  brothers  Cheney, 
the  sons  of  a  farmer  in  South  Manchester,  Con- 
necticut, had  cultivated  a  few  mulberry  trees  and 
reared  some  silk-worms,  in  their  boyhood ;  but 
as  they  grew  up  they  scattered,  after  the  manner  of  New 
England  boys.  Two  became  artists  of  rare  skill  and  genius, 
another  was  a  merchant  in  Providence,  and  had  presently 
called  one  of  his  younger  brothers  to  assist  him  ;  others  were 
engaged  in  farming,  and  some  of  the  younger  sons  remained 
on  the  old  homestead  with  their  parents.  There  must  have 
been  something  unusually  attractive  about  that  old  home- 
stead, for  we  find  that,  in  the  very  prime  of  life,  these  sons, 
not  after  the  manner  of  New  England  boys,  came  drifting 
back  to  it,  one  after  another ;  not  from  any  want  of  thrift  or 
enterprise,  for  they  were  young  men  self-poised  and  ener- 
getic in  all  business  matters ;  but  because  it  was  to  them  the 
dearest  spot  in  all  the  world.  Even  the  traveled  artists,  Seth 
and  John  Cheney,  found  no  skies  so  bright,  no  landscapes  so 
lovely,  no  residence  so  delightful,  as  at  that  farm-house  in 
South  Manchester. 

In  January,  1838,  Ward,  Rush,  Frank  and  Ralph  Cheney, 
started,  at  South  Manchester,  the  Mount  Nebo  Silk  Mills. 
They  had  been  for  four  or  five  years  previous  raising 
silk-worms  and  producing  some  silk,  like  their  neigh- 
bors. The  mills  were  closed  for  a  time,  when  Ward,  Rush, 
and  Frank  removed  temporarily  to  Burlington,  N.  J.  They 
established  there  mulberry  orchards,  cocooneries,  &c.,  and 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


6l 


conducted  and  published  from  July,  1838,  to  July,  1840,  the 
magazine  known  as  the  Silk  Growers'  Manual."  Other 
members  of  the  family  established  mulberry  plantations  near 
Aug-usta,  Ga.,  in  Florida,  and  at  Mt.  Healthy,  Ohio.  In  1841 
they  returned  to  South  Manchester  heavy  losers  by  the  failure 
of  the  Moms  multicaiilis.  They  reopened  the  Mount  Nebo 
Silk  Mill,  and  with  new^  machinery,  commenced  the  manufac- 
ture of  sewing-silk  and  twist,  using  mostly  imported  raw  silk, 
as  the  supply  of  American-grown  silk  was  too  scanty  to  sup- 
ply their  needs.  They  added,  after  a  time,  ribbons,  handker- 
chiefs, and  eventually  broad  goods  to  their  manufacture. 
They  made  their  first  experiments  in  the  production  of  spun 
silk  from  the  pierced  cocoons,  floss,  silk  waste,  and  what- 
ever silk  cannot  be  reeled.  This,  by  carding,  spinning 
and  weaving,  by  machinery  especially  adapted  for  preparing 
it,  is  now  made  into  substantial  and  durable  goods,  some- 
what wanting  in  lustre,  but  admirable  for  their  wearing  qual- 
ities. It  required  more  than  five  years  of  patient  and  costly 
experiments  before  they  were  able  to  utilize  successfully  this 
material.  At  first  the  spun  silk  w^as  made  into  pongees  and 
handkerchiefs,  and  subsequently  was  used  for  filling,  foulard 
silks,  &c.  Eventually  they  perfected  processes  by  which  it 
was  woven  into  broad  goods  and  ribbons,  and  these  are  now 
widely  known  as  the  cheapest  and  most  serviceable  silks  ol 
their  grade  in  the  market.  Prior  to  the  late  civil  war,  how- 
ever, the  Messrs.  Cheney  as  well  as  other  American  manu- 
facturers, found  themselves  unable,  in  the  production  of  most 
descriptions  of  broad  goods,  to  compete  successfully  with 
European  manufacturers. 

The  war,  which  compelled  the  government  to  levy  heavy 
duties  on  all  articles  of  luxury,  proved  of  great  benefit  to  the 
silk  manufacturers ;  the  tariff  of  August,  1861,  raising  the  duty 
on  most  classes  of  imported  silk  goods  to  40  per  cent.,  and 
that  of  June  30,  1864,  to  60  per  cent.,  at  which  rate  it  has 
since  remained.  The  importation  of  raw  silk  largely  in- 
creased, while  that  of  silk  goods  decreased  continuously. 
The  competition  in  the  manufacture  of  most  silk  goods 
brought  the  prices  to  a  lower  point  (the  quality  being  taken 


62 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


into  account)  than  at  any  previous  period,  notwithstanding 
the  tariff.  The  goods  of  Cheney  Brothers  have  been  con- 
stantly improving  in  quality,  durability  and  color ;  and  both 
their  spun  and  reeled  silks  have  for  the  past  two  or  three 
years  confessedly  excelled,  in  all  respects,  the  best  imported 
silks  of  their  class.  Meantime  the  Brothers  Cheney  have  not 
been  less  mindful  of  the  interests  and  comfort  of  their  em- 
ployes than  of  their  own  profit.  Their  two  great  manufac- 
turing establishments  at  Hartford  and  South  Manchester  are 
models  of  convenience  and  ventilation ;  and  their  manufac- 
turing village  at  South  Manchester  has  not  been  surpassed  in 
this  country  in  its  abundant  appliances  for  the  health,  com- 
fort, instruction  and  enjoyment  of  their  operatives.  The  cot- 
tages for  the  married  employes  have  ample  room,  water  and 
gas,  and  a  pleasant  garden-plot  for  each.  There  are  no  fences 
throughout  the  village.  Commodious  boarding-houses  are 
erected  for  those  who  are  single  or  prefer  not  to  keep  house. 
There  is  a  fine  hall,  library  and  reading-room,  to  the  support 
of  which  the  employes  contribute  a  little,  though  the  greater 
part  of  the  expense  comes  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  proprietors. 
A  first-class  school,  an  armory  for  the  military  company,  and 
ample  accommodations  for  religious  worship  are  also  provided. 
The  work  is  not  severe  nor  the  hours  long,  while  the  pay  is 
fairly  liberal. 

Charles  Cheney,  the  third  son  of  George  Cheney,  was  born 
at  South  Manchester,  Conn.,  in  1804,  and  died  there,  June 
20th,  1874.  Ward  Cheney,  the  sixth  son  of  George  Cheney, 
was  born  at  South  Manchester,  in  18 13,  and  died  there,  March 
22d,  1876.  These  brothers  were  two  of  eight,  all  of  whom 
have  been  interested  in  the  business  first  of  silk  culture,  and 
later  of  silk  manufacture.  They  were  brought  up  to  the 
practical  work  of  a  farm,  and  received  such  an  education  as 
the  little  New  England  district  school  of  those  days  supplied. 
This  would  have  been  but  a  meagre  training,  had  not  the 
stirring  and  potent  thought  of  the  neighborhood  and  the 
family  circle  made  such  an  atmosphere  about  them  as  -  to 
quicken  every  faculty  into  full  activity. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


63 


Charles  Cheney  left  the  home  and  farm  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen ;  and  as  clerk  in  a  country  store  in  Tolland,  Conn.,  re- 
ceived his  business  training,  and  acquired  habits  of  method 
and  exactness  which  characterized  all  his  later  business  life. 
When  about  twenty  years  of  age  he  went  to  Providence,  and 
with  an  old  friend  and  neighbor,  Solomon  Pitkin,  began  busi- 
ness as  a  dry-goods  merchant.  His  brother  Ward,  still  a  boy, 
joined  him  there  after  a  time  as  a  clerk,  and  remained  with 
him  several  years.  In  1834  the  firm  failed,  and  Charles 
Cheney  then  removed  to  a  farm  at  Mt.  Healthy,  Hamilton 
County,  Ohio.  Ward  Cheney  returned  to  the  old  home  in 
South  Manchester,  and  shortly  afterward  building  a  little 
house,  became  again  a  farmer.  Both  brothers  had  married 
in  Providence. 

A  year  or  two  later  they  became  interested  in  the  culture 
of  silk,  and  in  common  with  many  others,  in  raising  mulberry 
trees  as  a  provision  for  the  silk-worm.  Charles  Cheney,  on 
his  farm  in  Ohio,  was  much  interested  in  the  enterprise.  He 
planted  mulberry  trees,  constructed  a  small  cocoonery,  raised 
silk-worms,  and  made  a  few  experiments  in  silk  weaving  and 
reeling.  This  was,  however,  done  on  a  very  small  scale,  and 
though  one  or  two  pieces  of  goods  were  woven  on  the  farm, 
the  processes  were  only  experimental,  and  the  amount  of  silk 
produced  was  not  enough  to  amount  to  anything  in  manufac- 
ture. Raising  Morns  multicaiilis  trees,  for  which  there  was  a 
ready  market,  soon  became  the  principal  business,  and  the 
production  of  silk  was  then  made  a  secondary  consideration. 
At  the  same  time,  the  brothers  who  remained  at  home  were 
in  like  manner  busy  with  experiments  in  silk  culture,  but 
soon  became  much  absorbed  in  raising  the  mulberry  trees, 
and  gave  up  for  the  time  a  small  silk  mill,  of  which  the  owner- 
ship had  been  incorporated  in  1838,  under  the  title  of  the 
Mount  Nebo  Silk  Manufacturing  Company.  In  this  new 
business  Ward  Cheney  was  soon  the  pioneer.  Assisted  by 
his  brothers,  he  planted  in  Burlington,  N.  J.,  extensive  nurse- 
ries of  the  imdticaulis ;  importations  from  France  having  been 
made  for  the  purpose  by  his  brothers  Frank  and  Seth.  Here 
he  also  published  a  monthly  journal  called  "  The  American 


64 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Silk  Grower  and  Farmers'  Manual."  For  the  purpose  of  se- 
curing the  protection  of  a  warmer  climate,  another  farm  was 
started  in  Georgia,  and  the  business  of  raising  the  trees  for 
the  market  was  m  a  most  flourishing  condition,  when  sud- 
denly, m  1839,       bubble  burst,  and  the  loss  was  total. 

Foiled  in  this  direction,  Ward  Cheney  and  his  brothers  re- 
turned to  their  forsaken  mill  at  South  Manchester,  and  re- 
sumed the  work  of  making  sewing-silk  from  the  imported 
raw  silk.  A  very  small  building,  with  machinery  driven  by 
a  water-wheel,  was  the  first  mill.  It  would  be  difficult  for 
persons  acquainted  only  with  factories  as  they  are  to  be  found 
to-day  in  the  United  States,  to  picture  a  manufacturing  life 
such  as  existed  in  those  primitive  days  in  South  Manchester. 
The  mill  hands  were  intelligent  and  well  educated  American 
girls,  whose  relations  with  their  employers  were  those  of  un- 
questioned equality.  No  unpleasant  comparisons  between 
capital  and  labor  had  then  clouded  the  atmosphere  of  work, 
and  made  impossible  the  mutual  kindliness  which  is  the  ideal 
relation  between  employer  and  employed.  In  the  simplicity 
of  these  beginnings  is  doubtless  to  be  found  the  root  of  all 
that  is  good  in  the  conditions  of  working  life  in  South  Man- 
chester. Nothing  bearing  on  this  point  has  there  been  done 
or  planned  theoretically.  The  problem  of  capital  and  labor 
may  be  solved  elsewhere  by  experiment,  or  reasoned  out. 
With  Ward  Cheney  and  his  brothers  it  has  never  been  a  pro- 
blem at  all.  A  healthy  and  truly  democratic  respect  for  work 
and  workers  has  been  the  simple  and  only  source  of  Avhatever 
they  have  done  wisely  or  well  for  their  employes. 

Making  slow  progress  and  meeting  with  many  difficulties 
and  discouragements  in  the  development  of  a  new  industry, 
they  had  however  begun  to  see  daylight,  when  in  1847, 
Charles  Cheney,  having  sold  his  farm  in  Ohio,  returned  to 
Connecticut.  He  had  made  an  attractive  home  for  himself 
at  Mount  Healthy,  and  had  been  useful  and  valued  both  in 
his  own  neighborhood  and  in  Cincinnati,  where  he  is  not  even 
now  forgotten.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  abolitionists,  and 
was  a  friend  of  S.  P.  Chase  and  other  leaders  in  the  anti- 
slavery  movement,  who  were  then   regarded  as  fanatics. 


'   THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA.  65 

Himself  thoroughly  radical  on  this  subject,  he  did  much  to 
help  fugitive  slaves,  and  made  his  house  a  station  on  the 
Underground  Railroad.  Fugitives  were  often  concealed  in 
his  house,  and  he  sometimes  encountered  great  difficulties 
and  no  small  peril  in  getting  them  beyond  the  reach  of  their 
pursuers.  No  events  of  his  career  gave  him  in  retrospect  so 
much  satisfaction  as  these.  His  life  in  Ohio  was  saddened 
by  the  loss  of  his  wife  and  three  children,  and  he  came  back  to 
South  Manchester  as  home,  gladly  reuniting  his  life  and 
work  to  that  of  his  brothers,  and  giving  undoubtedly  most 
valuable  aid  in  the  organization  and  conduct  of  a  business 
which  they  had  opened  with  such  indomitable  energy  and 
ingenuity. 

Experience  in  the  processes  of  manufacture  had  brought 
success,  and  from  this  time  progress  was  constant  and  rapid. 
Buildings  were  added,  new  machinery  and  methods  imported 
and  invented,  and  new  branches  of  manufacture  added  to 
that  of  making  sewing-silk.  In  1854,  a  mill  was  built  in 
Hartford,  Charles  Cheney  removing  there  to  superintend  it, 
and  remaining  there  until  1868,  when  he  again  came  back  to 
South  Manchester,  where  he  ended  his  days.  During  these 
same  years.  Ward  Cheney  had  been  often  abroad,  uniting  to 
the  pleasures  of  travel  a  careful  study  of  the  silk  industry  in 
England  and  continental  Europe,  and  endeavoring  constantly 
to  improve  the  methods  and  machinery  at  home.  His  active 
mind  was  always  at  work,  not  only  on  business  matters,  but 
on  all  the  great  interests  of  the  world ;  and  his  lively  interest 
in  people  and  in  things  widened  continually.  His  warm 
sympathies  and  his  habit  of  taking  care  of  every  one  made 
him  the  father  of  the  place  in  which  he  lived ;  and  constantly 
taking  upon  himself  greater  labors,  he  went  on  under  his 
load  so  easily  and  joyously  as  never  to  show  that  anything 
was  difficult  or  troublesome  to  him. 

In  the  fuller  and  completer  years  of  later  life,  when  the 
living  brothers  were  all  together,  each  contributing  his  im- 
portant part  to  the  work  in  hand,  each  one  indispensable,  it  is 
difficult  to  point  to  any  one  portion  of  the  work  and  say  who 
did  it.    They  co-operated  heartily,  and  shared  all  interests. 


66 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


labors  and  rewards.  They  expanded  the  aims  of  existence  in 
all  directions,  patriotically  during  the  war,  generously  among 
their  people,  with  taste  and  simple  hospitality  in  their  homes. 
Frequent  illnesses  cast  a  shadow  over  the  last  years  of  Charles 
Cheney's  life,  but  were  powerless  to  paralyze  his  enthusiasm, 
or  render  him  indifferent  to  the  lives  and  interests  of  his 
fellow-beings.  With  both  him  and  his  brother  Ward,  the 
shortening  days  were  more  than  ever  crowded  with  work, 
and  filled  with  gracious  deeds. 

In  his  business  career  Charles  Cheney  was  most  remarkable 
for  carefulness,  thoroughness,  and  exact,  methodical  habits, 
while  in  Ward  Cheney  was  the  impulse  and  inspiring  energy 
which  was  the  mainspring  of  every  enterprise.  Each  in  his 
own  way  was  full  of  human  impulses,  of  kindness  and  cour- 
tesy. Cast  in  very  different  moulds,  they  still  shared  many 
peculiar  traits  by  which  they  were  known  among  men.  To 
brotherhood  their  lives  have  left  an  added  beauty.  Labor  is 
more  honored  and  honorable  for  their  work.  Faith  in  man- 
kind is  quickened  by  their  hearty  confidence  in  man. 

On  May  14,  1873,  Ward  Cheney  was  elected  President  of 
the  Silk  Association  of  America.  He  took  a  warm  and  active 
interest  in  its  prosperity.  His  death  was  felt  generally  by 
the  members  as  a  personal  loss.  Appropriate  resolutions 
were  drawn,  and  a  committee  including  several  of  the  more 
prominent  members  attended  the  funeral ;  but  these  formal 
measures  feebly  represented  the  genuine  sorrow  which  the 
Association  shared  with  the  wide  circle  of  Ward  Cheney's 
friends — a  circle  which  embraced  all  with  whom  he  had  been 
brought  in  contact,  whether  as  an  employer,  or  in  business 
relations,  or  in  private  life. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


67 


XI. 

Enterprises  started  between  1838  and  1848. 

UT  we  must  go  back  with  our  chronological 
record  to  the  times  which  tried  the  souls  of 
the  silk  producers  and  manufacturers.  Messrs. 
Haskell  and  Hayden  (hrm  name  now,  J.  H. 
Hayden  &  Son)  began  the  manufacture  of  sew- 
ing-silks and  twist  in  1838,  at  Windsor  Locks, 
Conn.,  and  have  continued  it  uninterruptedly 
to  the  present  time,  using  imported  raw  silks.  In 
1839,  Rixford  and  Dimock  commenced  business 
in  the  same  line  in  Mansfield ;  they  were  quite  successful  for 
several  years.  In  1840,  William  H.  Jones,  of  North  Man- 
chester, Conn.,  undertook  the  manufacture  of  sewing-silk, 
twist  and  cord,  from  American  silk.  He  made  excellent  silk, 
which  obtained  testimonials  from  the  American  Institute  and 
at  other  exhibitions ;  but  the  difficulty  of  procuring  American 
cocoons  led  him  to  abandon  the  business  in  1856.  B.  Hooley, 
now  of  the  firm  of  B.  Hooley  &  Son,  proprietors  of  the  Key- 
stone Silk  Mill,  commenced  a  manufacture  of  sewing-silk 
in  Philadelphia,  in  1840,  which  has  continued  uninterruptedly 
to  the  present  time. 

V.  J.  Messinger  started  the  silk  business  at  Canton,  Mass., 
in  1839;  but  some  months  later  entered  into  partnership 
with  Lemuel  Cobb,  brother  of  J.  H.  Cobb,  and  removed  to 
Needham,  where  they  remained  a  few  years,  making  sewings, 
gimps  and  fringes.  About  1844,  Mr.  Messinger  returned  to 
Canton,  and  in  partnership  with  his  brother,  V.  A.  Messinger, 
established  the  business  there  as  Messinger  &  Brother. 
They  continued  the  manufacture  of  sewings  and  twist  till 
1863,  when  it  was  transferred  to  Charles  Foster  and  J.  W.  C. 
Seavey,  the  latter  of  whom  had  been  with  Messinger  &  Bro. 
since  1853.  The  firm  name  was  J.  W.  C.  Seavey  &  Co.  In 
1869  the  firm  became  Seavey,  Foster  &  Bowman.    They  are 


68 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


now  very  extensive  manufacturers,  and  their  favorite  brands, 
the  "  Lion  "  and  "  Eureka,"  have  a  high  reputation.  The 
popularity  of  the  Eureka  lo-yard  button-hole  twist  has  been 
such  as  to  induce  other  manufacturers  of  twist  for  button- 
holes to  follow  the  method  first  adopted  with  that  brand,  of 
putting-  it  on  small  spools.  This  improvement  was  adopted 
about  the  year  1870:  the  lo-yard  spool  being  a  convenience 
to  dressmakers,  since  its  quantity  of  thread  is  just  sufficient 
for  making  one  dress.  The  firm  have  contributed  largely  to 
the  movement  for  putting  up  strictly  pure-dye  goods,  and  have 
also  manufactured  and  introduced  measuring  and  strength- 
testing  machines  to  enable  buyers  to  inform  themselves  of 
the  actual  quality  of  the  goods  they  are  buying.  To  the 
enterprise  of  this  firm  consumers  are  indebted  for  many  im- 
improvements  in  the  style  and  quality  of  twist  silks. 

The  first  silk  manufactory  in  Paterson,  N.  J.  (which  has 
now  become  the  chief  city  of  this  industry),  was  started 
some  time  previous  to  1840,  by  Christopher  Colt,  Jr.,  of 
Hartford.  It  was  a  small  affair,  and  in  that  year  it  was  pur- 
chased by  G.  W.  Murray,  of  Northampton,  who  placed  John 
Ryle,  an  English  silk  weaver  from  Macclesfield,  Eng.,  in 
charge.  In  1843,  Mr.  Ryle  was  admitted  to  a  partnership, 
the  firm  being  Murray  &  Ryle ;  and  in  1 846,  Mr.  Ryle,  with 
the  assistance  of  his  two  brothers  who  remained  in  Maccles- 
field, bought  out  Mr.  Murray's  interest,  and  the  same  year 
attempted  weaving  dress  silks.  The  silks  were  of  excellent 
quality,  but  they  could  not  be  made  profitably,  and  for  the 
next  thirteen  years  Mr.  Ryle  confined  himself  to  the  produc- 
tion of  tram,  organzine,*  spool  silks  and  trimmings.  In 
1859-60,  he  made  another  experiment  in  the  production 
of  broad  goods,  but  the  times  were  still  unpropitious,  and 
this  manufacture  was  again  postponed.  In  1872  or  1873, 
having  associated  with  him  his  sons,  the  firm  now  being 
John  Ryle  &  Sons,  he  returned  to  the  manufacture  of  broad 

*  These  terms,  which  we  shall  have  frequent  occasion  to  use,  may  properly  be  defined 
here.  Organ-zine  is  the  raw  silk  which  has  been  wound,  cleaned  and  doubled,  and  thrown 
or  twisted  till  it  is  of  suitable  strength  and  size  for  the  warp  of  silk  goods.  Tram  (the 
word  means  woof)  is  the  silk  which  has  been  doubled  before  twisting,  and  is  used  for  the 
woof  of  silk  goods.  It  may  be  of  a  quality  of  silk  inferior  to  the  Organzlne,  but  is  not  so 
necessarily. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


69 


goods  the  third  time,  and  with  gratifying  success,  the  firm 
being  now  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  twills  and  fancy 
silks. 

In  1842,  Hirsch  Heinemann  began  the  manufacture  of 
ladies'  belt  ribbons  wdioUy  of  silk,  and  dress  trimmings. 
Under  the  names  of  Hirsch  Heinemann,  Heinemann  &  Sil- 
bermann,  and  Silbermann,  Heinemann  &  Co.,  this  enterprise 
has  been  continued  to  the  present  time.  They  were  the  first 
manufacturers  of  ladies'  belt  ribbons  in  New  York.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1876,  the  partnership  expired.  Mr.  Silbermann  con- 
tinues the  ribbon  manufacture,  and  Mr.  Heinemann  makes  a 
specialty  of  dress  trimmings.  In  the  same  year,  James  Lovett 
commenced  the  manufacture  of  silk  twist  in  Newark,  N.  J. 
Under  the  firm  name  of  Lovett  &  Standish  the  business,  is 
still  maintained,  the  firm  making  sewing-silks  as  well  as  twist. 

Albert  A.  Conant,  the  founder  of  the  present  firm  of  A.  A. 
&  H.  E.  Conant,  of  Wilhmantic — a  kinsman  of  Capt.  Joseph 
Conant,  of  the  Mansfield  Silk  Co.,  and  afterward  of  North- 
ampton and  Conantville — commenced  in  1843  the  manufacture 
of  sewing-silk  in  the  old  mill,  at  Gurleyville,  in  Mansfield, 
which  had  been  occupied  by  the  Mansfield  Silk  Co.  The 
present  firm  (H.  E.  Conant  having  joined  it  in  1850)  are  man- 
ufacturing sewing-silks  and  twist.  The  same  year,  F.  S. 
Hovey,  related  to  Storrs  Hovey,  of  the  Mansfield  Silk  Co., 
became  connected  with  the  manufacture  of  sewing-silks  in 
Philadelphia,  and  still  continues  the  sale  of  the  "  Hovacci" 
and  Vittorelli"  brands  of  silk  and  twist,  which  are  great 
favorites  with  the  jobbing  trade. 

Gurney  &  Co.  started  the  manufacture  of  the  I  X  L  twist 
and  silk  braids,  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  1844.  We  believe  they 
have  relinquished  the  business.  A  new  silk  mill,  now  occu- 
pied by  E.  B.  Smith,  a  sewing-silk  manufacturer,  was  built  at 
Gurleyville,  Mansfield,  Conn.,  in  1848,  by  James  Royce. 


70  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

XII. 

Firms  established  between  1848  anel  1854. 

OBI  AS  KOHN,  of  Hartford,  Conn,  in  1848, 
founded  a  mill  for  sewing-silks  and  trimmings, 
which  has  since  grown  into  the  Novelty  Weav- 
ing and  Braiding  Works,  of  which  Mr.  Kohn 
is  President.  The  concern  manufactures  sew- 
ing-silks, gimps,  fringes,  tassels,  braids,  and  some 
ribbons.  They  removed  to  a  larger  factory  m 
1865,  and  that  was  enlarged  and  rebuilt  in 
1873. 

In  1848,  William  Skinner,  of  Holyoke,  Mass.,  undertook 
the  manufacture  of  silk  in  Northampton,  and  in  1854  removed 
to  Haydenville,  where  his  Unquomonk  Silk  Mills"  ranked 
for  twenty  years  among  the  largest  silk  factories  in  the  State. 
On  Saturday  morning.  May  16,  1874,  the  Williamsburg  Re- 
servoir on  Mill  River,  Hampshire  County,  Mass.,  estimated 
to  contain  6,000,000  tons  of  water  as  a  reserve  force  to  supply 
numerous  mills  and  factories  that  lined  the  river  banks,  burst 
its  boundaries;  148  human  lives  and  property  valued  at 
$1,000,000  were  destroyed.  Among  the  severest  losers  by 
this  catastrophe  was  William  Skinner,  who  had  located  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  a  few  miles  from  Haydenville.  His  silk  mill 
and  the  adjacent  homes  of  his  operatives  had  given  the  place 
the  local  name  of  Skinnersville.  The  mill  was  entirely  de- 
molished, and  the  boiler  was  carried  more  than  a  thousand  feet 
down  the  river.  Mr.  Skinner  estimated  his  loss  at  $200,000. 
Part  of  the  Nonotuck  Silk  Company's  smaller  mill,  at 
Leeds  (a  few  miles  above  Northampton,  on  the  Mill  River), 
was  also  swept  away.  In  both  these  instances,  the  homes 
and  effects  of  many  of  the  operatives  were  destroyed,  and 
they  barely  escaped  with  their  lives.  As  the  suffering  result- 
ing from  this  calamity  became  known,  and  it  was  manifes 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


71 


that  outside  assistance  was  needed  for  the  relief  of  the  desti- 
tute operatives,  aid  was  generously  extended  by  money  sub- 
scriptions among-  the  members  of  the  Silk  Association  of 
America ;  the  total  contributions  from  them  and  from  a  few 
other  persons  making  a  total  of  $2,756.'^"  Substantial  help 
was  thereby  afforded  to  43  employes  of  the  silk  mills  at  Skin- 
nersville,  and  40  families  and  employes  at  Leeds.  The  remit- 
tances to  Mr.  Skinner  in  this  behalf  were  by  him  handed  over 
to  the  Relief  Committee  of  Northampton,  Mass.  Girls  re- 
ceived one  hundred  dollars  each,  and  a  well-filled  trunk  of 
clothing,  stockings,  shoes,  &c. ;  single  men  fifty  dollars  each, 
and  a  share  of  clothing,  &c. ;  men  that  were  tenants  three 
hundred  dollars  each,  and  a  share  of  clothing,  &c.  If  house- 
holders, they  received  five  hundred  dollars  each,  additional. 

Mr.  Skinner  has  since  re-established  his  silk  mills  at  Holy- 
oke,  and  Avith  new  machinery,  fine  water-power  privileges, 


*  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  donors  : 

A.  A.  Low  &  Bros   $ioo  oo 

A.  A.  Low   100  00 

Wm.  H.  Fogg  »Sl  Co   100  00 

Wm.  H.  Smith  &  Son   lOO  oo 

William  Ryle    200  00 

Hadden  &  Co    100  00 

Hamil  &  Booth   100  00 

Wm.  Strange  &  Co   100  00 

Jno.  N.  Stearns  &  Co   100  oO 

A.  Soleliac  &  Sons   25  00 

Silbermaiin,  Heinemann  &  Co..  25  00 

J.  Maidhof   25  00 

Deppeler  &  Kammerer   25  00 

The  Singer  MPg  Co.,  by  1.  A, 

Hopper,  Pres   250  00 

C.  A.  Auffmordt  &  Co   150  00 

B.  B.  Tilt  &  Son   100  00 

Gossler  &  Co   100  00 

Jno.  Caswell  &  Co    100  00 

Belding  Bros.  »&  Co   100  00 

Jno.  H.  Draper  &  Co   50  00 

Olyphant  &  Co.,  of  China   50  00 


Jno.  T.  Walker  

D.  O.  Donoghue   .  .  . 

Jones,  Underhill  &  Scudder  

S.  M.  Meyenberg  

A.  L.  Mowry  

Arnold,  Constable  &  Co  

Aitken,  Son  &  Co  

Louis  Franke  

Jno.  Dunlop  

Prall  Bros  

Cash  

Thomas  N.  Dale  

M.  W.  (Anonymous)  

V  

Wm.  H.  Copcutt  &  Co  

Cheney  Bros  

C.  Greppo  

Cash  

Hensel,  Wolff  &  Co.,  Philadel- 
phia  


$50  00 
50  00 
25  00 
25  00 
50  00 
50  00 
25  00 
25  00 
25  00 
25  00 
25  00 
50  00 

2  00 

3  00 
50  00 

200  00 
50  00 
I  00 

25  00 


Total  $2,756  00 


In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  cash  subscriptions  were  made  on  the  spot  at  the  time  of  the 
disaster  by  Messrs.  George  B.  Skinner,  William  lies  and  B.  Richardson,  who  immediately 
visited  the  scene  with  proffers  of  assistance. 

Contributions  of  clothing  were  received  and  likewise  forwarded  from  Jno.  N.  Stearns, 
221  East  42d  St.,  and  S.  McVickar,  123  West  21st  St,,  N.  Y, 


72 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


and  indomitable  enterprise,  is  again  prospering.  He  has  re- 
cently introduced  the  manufacture  of  silk  braids  and  bind- 
ings at  Holyoke. 

The  name  of  Joseph  Warner  first  appears  in  the  silk  busi- 
ness in  1848,  when  he  was  with  J.  Conant  &  Co.  in  the  old 
Conant  Mill  near  Northampton.  From  that  time  to  this  he 
has  not  changed  his  locality  or  business.  He  makes  the 
manufacture  of  sewing-silks  a  specialty,  but  occasionally  pro- 
duces some  spool  twist.  J.  Harvey  Holland  was  the  dyer  of 
Conant  &  Co.  in  1848  ;  in  1849  of  Warner,  Holland 

&  Co.  took  the  business.  Mr.  Warner  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  William  Skinner  in  1852,  but  when  in  1854  the 
latter  removed  to  Haydenville,  the  firm  of  Warner  &  Suy- 
dam  was  formed  and  lasted  six  years,  after  which  Mr.  Warner 
carried  on  the  business  alone  for  eleven  years,  and  in  1871 
took  into  partnership  J.  S.  Lathrop,  of  Northampton,  form- 
ing the  present  firm  of  Warner  &  Lathrop.  The  sewing- 
silks  of  this  concern  are  of  merit  well  known  among  manu- 
facturers. 

In  1849,  Co^-  J-  Maidhof,  with  Mr.  Werner,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Werner  &  Maidhof,  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
ladies'  dress  trimmings  at  18  and  20  Liberty  Street,  New 
York.  In  June,  185 1,  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  Meeker 
&  Maidhof,  and  in  April,  1865,  to  J.  Maidhof,  which  continued 
as  its  designation  until  January  of  the  present  year,  when  it 
changed  to  J.  Maidhof  &  Co.  The  house  still  confines  itself 
to  ladies'  dress  trimmings.  M.  Heminway  began  the  manu- 
facture of  sewing-silks  at  Watertown,  Conn.,  in  1849.  the 
question  should  ever  be  debated  as  to  who  was  the  first  to 
introduce  spool  silks  to  take  the  place  of  skeins  in  the  market, 
Mr.  Heminway  can  advance  strong  claims  to  that  honor. 
His  manufacture  of  sewing-silk  and  twist  bears  high  repute, 
because  of  its  uniform  excellence.  As  the  business  increased, 
his  four  sons  and  only  daughter  obtained  an  interest  in  it,  and 
it  is  still  continued,  under  the  firm  name  of  M.  Heminway  & 
Sons'  Silk  Co.,  at  the  same  place. 

In  1850,  J.  C.  Graham  began  the  manufacture  of  dress 
trimmings  and  narrow  textile  fabrics  in  Philadelphia,  and  has 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


73 


continued  it  on  an  extensive  scale  to  the  present  time.  His 
manufactory  is  at  525  Cherry  St.  He  is,  after  Wm.  H.  Horst- 
mann  &  Sons,  the  oldest  manufacturer  of  dress  trimmings  in 
that  city.  The  next  year,  (185 1)  Henry  W.  Hensel  founded 
another  house  in  Philadelphia  in  the  same  line  of  goods.  After 
several  changes,  the  present  firm  name  of  this  house  is 
Hensel,  CoUaday  &  Co.  The  three  large  houses  of  W.  H. 
Horstmann  &  Sons,  J.  C.  Graham,  and  Hensel,  CoUaday  & 
Co.  have  taken  the  lead  in  the  manufacture  of  ladies'  dress 
trimmings  at  Philadelphia. 

L.  D.  Brown  started  in  the  manufacture  of  skein  silk  at 
Gurleyville,  Conn.,  in  1850,  in  partnership  with  James  Royce, 
and  occupying  the  mill  built  by  the  latter  in  1848,  which  has 
been  referred  to.  In  1853  Mr.  Brown  bought  the  mill  then 
occupied  by  the  Conant  Brothers,  (already  mentioned,)  in  the 
same  locality,  and  continued  the  manufacture  of  skein  silk 
there  until  1865,  when  he  took  his  son  into  partnership,  sold 
the  mill  at  Gurleyville  to  William  E.  Williams,  and  bought  the 
William  Atwood  Mill  at  Atwoodville.  In  1871,  L.  D.  Brown 
&  Son  erected  a  new  mill  for  themselves  at  Middletown, 
Conn.,  and  sold  the  Atwoodville  Mill  to  Macfarlane  Brothers. 
They  now  manufacture  principally  machine  twist  and  skein 
and  spool  sewing-silk.  Their  silk  has  an  excellent  reputation 
for  strength  and  purity  of  dye.  In  February,  1875,  they 
opened  a  New  York  house.  Their  brands  are  L.  D.  Brown 
&  Son,"  Middletown  Mills,"  Paragon,"  and  "  Connecticut 
Valley."  The  junior  partner,  H.  L.  Brown,  has  made  some 
inventions  of  considerable  value  to  the  silk  industry,  including 
an  improvement  in  winding  soft  silk,  which  has  been  intro- 
duced into  a  number  of  silk  mills,  and  a  new  method  of  silk 
spooling  and  weighing. 

In  1852  Frederick  Baare  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
fringes,  galloons  and  tassels.  From  1862  to  1870  he  manufac- 
tured, at  Schoharie,  N.  Y.,  the  same  classes  of  goods,  and  also 
ribbons,  foulards,  poplins,  and  other  broad  goods.  Since 
1870  he  has  founded  the  Baare  Silk  Manufacturing  Company, 
at  Paterson,  N.  J.,  which  produces  plain  and  fancy  silks,  rib- 
bons, ladies'  dress  trimmings,  fringes,  galloons,  &c. 


74  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

In  1853  George  B.  Skinner  began  the  manufacture  of  sew- 
ing-silk and  twist,  at  Mansfield,  Conn.,  but  subsequently  re- 
moved to  Yonkers,  on  the  Hudson,  where  he  has  a  large  mill, 
employing  200  or  more  operatives,  in  the  manufacture  of  ma- 
chine twist,  tram,  organzine  and  fringe  silk.  William  lies  is 
in  partnership  with  Mr.  Skinner,  and  superintends  the  manu- 
facture. In  1854,  George  R.  Hanks — son  of  Rodney  Hanks, 
already  mentioned — erected  a  mill  on  Hanks'  Hill,  Mansfield, 
Conn.,  on  the  site  of  the  mill  built  by  his  father  in  1821. 
There  he  manufactured  sewing  and  twist  silk  until  1858, 
when  the  business  passed  into  the  hands  of  his  sons,  P.  G. 
and  J.  S.  Hanks,  who  still  continue  in  it  with  good  success ; 
another  of  the  many  instances  in  this  business  where,  amid  all 
its  vicissitudes  and  disasters,  three  successive  generations  have 
engaged  in  the  manufacture. 

Hamil  and  Booth,  now  of  the  "  Passaic  Silk  Works,"  and 
the  "  Hamil  Mill,"  of  Paterson,  N.  J.,  formed  a  copartnership 
in  1854,  which  has  lasted  to  the  present  time.  They  com- 
menced business  as  throwsters,"  with  twenty  operatives. 
Increasing  their  business,  and  varying  its  character  from  time 
to  time,  they  now  give  employment  to  more  than  five  hundred 
operatives.  From  1868  to  1870  they  attempted  the  manufac- 
ture of  gros-grains  and  black  dress  silks,  but  the  condition 
of  the  markets,  growing  out  of  the  effects  of  the  Franco-Ger- 
man war  of  1 870-1 87 1,  led  them  to  suspend  operations  in 
those  goods  for  a  time,  although  the  perfection  of  their  work 
had  obtained  a  diploma  and  medal  from  the  American  Insti- 
tute in  1869.  During  this  period  they  purchased  the  Hamil 
mill,  and  undertook  the  manufacture  of  ribbons  and  twilled 
silks.  In  1873  they  renewed  the  production  of  gros-grain 
and  black  dress  silks,  and  in  1874  added  fringed  silks, 
Jacquard  weaving,  &c. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


75 


XIII. 


New  Firms  from  1855  1863. 


HE  house  of  Dexter,  Lambert  &  Co.,  successors 
to  Tilt  &  Dexter,  to  whom  reference  has  been 
made,  was  organized  in  Boston  in  1855,  and 
removed  to  Paterson,  N.  J.,  in  1867.  In  1874 
they  added  power-loom  machinery  to  their 
mills,  and  have  since  added  twilled  and  figured 
silk  and  Jacquard  weaving  to  their  previous 
manufactures  of  dress  trimmings  and  ribbons. 
The  house  of  Deppeler  &  Kammerer  was  founded  in  1855, 
for  the  manufacture  of  dress  trimmings,  but  did  not  assume 
their  present  firm-name  until  1866.  Their  manufactory  is 
now  in  Grand  Street,  New  York.  In  1856,  Stelle  &  Walt- 
hall formed  a  copartnership  at  Paterson,  as  throwsters  of  sew- 
ing, fringe  and  tram  silks.  Mr.  Walthall  retired  in  1861,  and 
Mr.  Stelle  associated  his  two  sons  with  him  in  the  business. 
In  1873  or  1874  they  purchased  a  mill  property  at  Sauquoit, 
Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  have  organized  as  a  joint  stock  com- 
pany under  the  style  of  the  Sauquoit  Silk  Manufacturing 
Company.  They  make  the  throwing  of  organzine  and  tram 
silks  a  specialty.  Mr.  Stelle  is  President  of  the  Company. 
They  have  also  a  branch  factory  at  319-323  Garden  Street, 
Philadelphia,  which  is  under  the  superintendence  of  Richard 
Rossmiissler,  the  Treasurer  of  the  Company.  Samuel  Bertschy 
&  Co.  commenced,  in  1856,  the  manufacture  of  narrow  goods, 
hat  bands,  belt  ribbons,  and  since  1866  as  S.  Bertschy  &  Co. 
have  also  made  bonnet  ribbons,  neckties,  &c.,  at  Tenth  Avenue 
and  46th  Street,  New  York. 

C.  L.  Bottum  became  connected  with  the  silk  manufacture 
in  1857.  He  was  at  first  a  partner  with  one  of  the  Conants, 
at  Mansfield  Centre,  Conn.  He  removed  to  Paterson,  N.  J., 
in  1858,  sold  out  to  Mr.  Conant  in  1859,  "^"^^  returned  to  Mans- 
field, where  he  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  H.  Holland;  and 


76 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


G.  Holland  was  admitted  into  the  firm  a  year  later.  They 
purchased,  in   1859,  Conant  mill  at  Conantville,  built 

by  Captain  Joseph  Conant  in  1852,  and  began  the  manufac- 
ture of  sewing-  and  machine  twist.  One  of  his  partners,  G. 
Holland,  with  John  E.  Atwood  (another  of  the  Mansfield  Silk 
Co.  names),  patented  an  invention  known  as  the  stretching 
machine.  It  is  said  that  more  than  95  per  cent,  of  all  the  ma- 
chine twist  now  made  in  this  country  is  manufactured  on  this 
machine.  By  its  use  it  is  claimed  that  the  cords  forming  the 
thread  of  the  twist  are  drawn  into  their  proper  place,  making 
a  uniform  smooth  thread.  In  the  Fall  of  1864,  Mr.  Bottum 
bought  out  the  manufacturing  interest  of  his  partners,  holding 
also  one-sixth  interest  in  the  stretching  machine,  and  initiated 
the  manufacture  of  a  twist  which  he  calls  the  ^'  patent  machine 
twist  brand."  This  he  makes  a  specialty.  He  enlarged  his 
mill  to  double  its  former  size  in  1869,  and  still  continues  in  the 
business  with  G.  A.  Hammond  and  C.  C.  Knowlton  as  part- 
ners, under  the  firm-name  of  C.  L.  Bottum  &  Co. 

In  1 86 1,  William  P.  Towles  and  Godfrey  Tallerman  under- 
took the  manufacture  of  ribbons,  scarfs,  neckties  and  trimmings, 
at  Baltimore.  Mr.  Towles  was  subsequently  a  partner  in  the 
firms  of  Towles,  Tallerman  &  Co.,  Towles  Brothers  &  Co., 
and  after  1870  in  the  Monumental  Silk  Works  and  Silk 
Manufacturing  Company.  In  the  great  fire  at  Baltimore, 
in  1873,  their  silk  mill  was  burned,  and  the  Company 
wound  up  its  affairs.  Mr.  Tallerman  subsequently  became 
the  senior  of  the  firm  of  Tallerman,  Hecht  &  Co.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1873,  he  withdrew  from  that  firm  (who  continue  busi- 
ness as  M.  Hecht  &  Co.)  and  resumed  his  old  business  of  rib- 
bons, scarfs,  neckties  and  trimmings,  in  Frederick  Street, 
Baltimore,  the  firm  being  G.  Tallerman  &  Co.  The  Singer 
Manufacturing  Co.  commenced  in  1862  the  manufacture  of 
machine  twist  and  silk  for  supplying  their  sewing  machines ; 
their  silk  factory  at  Newark,  N.  J.  being  the  mill  formerly 
occupied  by  James  Lovett  &  Sons ;  and  have  continued  it  to 
the  present  time,  seUing  large  amounts  at  their  agencies. 
John  Marr  started  in  the  manufacture  of  silk  goods  at 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  in  1862,  and  in  1865  began  making  hair  nets, 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


n 


to  which  he  added,  in  1868,  trimming  laces  and  spot  nets  of 
silk.  He  is  believed  to  have  been  the  pioneer  in  that  line  of 
work  in  this  country.  Since  May,  1870,  his  factory  has  been 
in  Centre  Street,  New  York  City. 

The  year  1863  was  signalized  by  the  entrance  of  several 
large  houses  into  the  silk  manufacture.  Among  these  were 
Strange  &  Brother,  who  began  the  manufacture  of  ribbons  at 
Williamsburgh,  L.  L,  and  in  1868  removed  to  Paterson,  where 
the  firm-name  was  changed  to  William  Strange  &  Co.  This 
firm  have  two  mills  at  Paterson,  and  are  the  largest  silk 
ribbon  manufacturers  in  the  country,  employing  over 
700  operatives.  In  the  same  year  Belding  Brothers  &  Co. 
commenced  the  manufacture  of  sewing-silks  and  twist  at 
Rockville,  Conn.,  and  have  now  their  warehouses  in  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis.  They 
rank  among  the  largest  houses  in  this  branch  of  the  silk  man- 
ufacture, and  their  goods  bear  an  excellent  reputation.  Seven 
prize  medals  for  merit  of  their  goods  have  been  awarded  to 
this  firm  ;  two  obtained  at  the  Cincinnati  exhibitions,  three 
at  St.  Louis,  one  at  Baltimore  and  one  at  Philadelphia.  Aub, 
Hackenburg  &  Co.  also  began  the  manufacture  of  machine 
and  sewing-silks  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  same  year,  and  the 
superiority  of  their  colors  and  the  excellence  of  their  dyeing 
have  caused  their  goods  to  be  in  great  demand.  They  ob- 
tained the  highest  premium  at  the  exhibition  of  the  Franklin 
Institute  in  1874. 


78 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


XIV. 

Nezv  Progress  from  1863  to  1869. 

URING  1863,  Louis  Franke,  in  New  York 
City,  was  enrolled  among  the  manufacturers  of 
fringes,  cords  and  tassels  of  silk  and  worsted, 
and  of  Angora  fringes  and  tassels.  In  1868  he 
added  to  these  articles,  braided  cords  and  silk 
braids;  and  in  1870,  sash  ribbons,  marabout 
trimmings,  &c.  The  business  has  been  succes- 
sively and  largely  extended,  under  the  firm- 
names  of  Kern  &  Franke,  Louis  Franke,  Franke  &  Rost 
(1865),  Louis  Franke  (again,  1866);  and  since  1873  H.  W. 
Struss  has  been  a  partner.  The  facilities  of  this  house 
for  manufacture  were  enlarged  in  1868;  and  within  the  pre- 
sent year  their  braiding  works — which  for  eight  years  pre- 
vious had  been  in  a  separate  building  from  their  other  factory 
in  New  York — have  been  removed  to  Paterson,  N.  J.,  where 
also  they  have  established  a  throwing  mill. 

In  1864  the  Dale  Manufacturing  Co.  was  organized,  and  in 
1866  the  Dale  silk  mills  were  completed  at  Paterson.  The  Pres- 
ident of  the  company,  Thomas  N.  Dale,  had  had  long  experi- 
ence as  an  importer  of  tailors'  trimmings,  having  for  many 
years  resided  in  Paris  as  the  foreign  member  of  the  house  of 
Thos.  N.  Dale  &  Co.  He  turned  his  attention,  in  1864,  to  the 
manufacture  of  tailors'  trimmings  in  this  country.  The 
Dale  company  make  a  specialty  of  silk  braids  and  bindings 
for  the  tailors'  trimmings  trade,  but  they  manufacture  also 
tram,  organzine,  sewing-silk  and  twist,  scarfs  and  cords. 
They  use  the  French  braiding  machinery.  Werner  Itschner 
&  Co.  also  commenced  the  ribbon  manufacture  in  1864,  at 
Philadelphia,  and  removed  in  December,  1865,  to  German- 
town,  where  they  are  now  carrying  on  an  extensive  business. 
J.  FI.  Booth  &  Co.  began  the  manufacture  of  tram  and  organ- 
zme  at  Paterson  the  same  year  (1864),  and  are  still  engaged  in  it. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


79 


In  1865  another  of  the  leading  houses  in  the  manufacture 
of  broad  goods  started  its  enterprise.  John  N.  Stearns  com- 
menced making  fancy  silk  goods,  foulards,  handkerchiefs,  ad- 
vancing to  Jacquard  weaving,  and  to  the  production  of  some 
varieties  of  dress  silks,  all  of  which  are  of  excellent  quality. 
Stearns  &  Co. — there  are  now  three  partners  in  the  house — 
have  a  large  factory  on  East  42d  Street,  N.  Y.,  and  dyeing 
works  on  Staten  Island.  A  considerable  portion  of  their 
spinning  machinery  was  purchased  at  very  low  prices  from 
the  Manchester  (England)  silk  manufacturers  after  the  Cob- 
den  treaty  w4th  France  had  almost  annihilated  the  silk  indus- 
try in  Great  Britain. 

In  1865-67,  two  of  the  largest  silk-dyeing  estabhshments  in 
the  country  were  established.  Rudolph  Klauder,  a  dyer,  and 
the  son  of  a  dyer,  organized  the  Quaker  City  Dye  and  Print 
Works,  in  Philadelphia,  in  1865,  and  by  careful  study  and  in- 
vestigation of  foreign  establishments,  and  the  best  machinery 
and  processes,  has  brought  the  dyeing  of  silks  to  the  highest 
perfection.  The  same  year  Mr.  Greppo  (now  of  Weidmann 
&  Greppo),  a  nephew  of  M.  Bernaud,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
silk  dyers  of  Lyons,  France,  commenced  business  as  a  manu- 
facturer of  silk  braids  at  Cranford,  N.  J.,  and  in  1866-67 
started  a  dyeing  establishment  at  Paterson,  Mr.  Weidmann, 
also  an  experienced  and  skillful  dyer,  who  in  1873  took  charge 
of  the  dye-house  of  the  Dale  Manufacturing  Co.,  formed  a 
partnership  with  Mr.  Greppo,  in  January,  1876.  Their  silk- 
dyeing  works  are  now  the  largest  in  the  United  States. 

J.  H.  &  G.  Holland,  who  had  been  partners  with  C.  L. 
Bottum  at  Conantville,  organized,  in  1866,  a  new  firm  for  the 
manufacture  of  sewing-silk  and  machine  twist  at  Willimantic, 
Conn.  J.  H.  Holland  died  in  1868,  and  G.  Holland  in  1870. 
The  business  is  now  carried  on  by  Mrs.  G.  Holland,  under 
the  name  of  the  Holland  Manufacturing  Company,  of  which 
Ira  Dimock  is  the  manager.  The  company  prospered,  and  in 
1872  erected  an  additional  mill.  John  A.  Conant  (one  of  the 
Mansfield  family  of  Conants)  is  in  charge  of  the  ''throwing" 
department. 


8o 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Dunlop  &  Malcolm  (John  Dunlop  since  1873)  built  a  mill  at 
Paterson  in  1866,  for  the  manufacture  of  sewing  and  machine 
twist.  The  Oneida  Community  also  undertook,  in  1866,  the 
manufacture  of  sewing-silk  and  machine  twist  at  Oneida,  and 
in  1868  established  a  branch  factory  at  their  community  in 
Walhngford,  Conn.    Their  silks  have  a  good  reputation. 

John  D.  Cutter  started  business  in  the  same  branch  of  man- 
ufacture at  Paterson,  in  1866,  at  first  in  partnership  with  D. 
Beach  Grant,  afterwards  with  Benjamin  Salter;  and  since 
October,  1873,  alone.  His  establishment  bears  the  title  of 
the  Excelsior  Manufacturing  Co.  The  spool  silk  of  this 
Company  has  an  established  reputation  for  excellence  of 
material  and  purity  of  dye.  Their  machine-twist  and  sewing- 
silk  are  numbered  in  sizes  corresponding  with  those  of  stand- 
ard spool  cotton ;  a  system  which  facilitates  use  with  similarly 
numbered  sewing-machine  needles. 

In  Jan.,  1866,  P.  G.  Givernaud,  having  associated  his  three 
sons  with  him,  brought  to  this  country  60  weavers,  and  com- 
menced manufacturing  silk  goods  with  machinery  brought 
from  Lyons,  France.  Dress  silks  of  the  style  known  as 
Grand  CacJiemire  d'  Ameriqiie  were  his  specialty.  This 
house  was  the  first,  except  Cheney  Brothers,  to  carry  on 
broad  silk  weaving  in  plain  dress  silks  on  a  considerable  scale 
in  this  country.  He  employed  150  operatives  for  the  first 
two  or  three  years.  In  1869,  this  house  formed  a  connection 
with  Benkard  &  Hutton,  under  which  the  business  was 
so  much  increased  that  500  operatives  were  employed,  and 
an  annual  production  of  $600,000  reached.  In  1873,  this 
connection  with  Benkard  &  Hutton  was  dissolved ;  and 
Givernaud  Brothers  (the  sons  of  P.  G.  Givernaud)  built  a 
new  mill,  which  was  fitted  with  improved  throwing  ma- 
chinery of  new  American  design,  constructed  by  the  Dan- 
forth  Locomotive  and  Machine  Works  of  Paterson,  N.  J. 
This  new  mill  contains  all  the  requisites  of  a  first-class  estab- 
lishment. In  the  factory,  at  West  Hoboken,  there  are  100 
looms,  and  in  that  at  Olmstead  Station  twenty-five  looms, 
noAV  running.    The  production  of  dress  silks,  in  1875,  was 


Mills  of  the  Holland  Manufacturing  Company,  Willimantic,  Co  i 


"  Union  Silk  Works,"  of  John  Dunlop,  Paterson,  N.  J, 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


8l 


valued  at  $200,000,  and  that  of  the  present  year  (1876)  is  at 
the  rate  of  $300,000  per  annum. 

In  April,  1866,  the  firm  of  Wolfsohn,  Meyenberg  &  Co.  was 
established  in  New  York  for  the  manufacture  of  silk  trim- 
mings and  hair  nets.  It  was  dissolved  in  Jan.,  1868,  and  S. 
M.  Meyenberg  continued  the  business  alone  till  October, 
1870,  when  the  firm  of  Meyenberg,  Prall  &  Co.  was  formed, 
and  the  business  of  silk  weaving  commenced.  The  great 
difficulties  attending  a  novel  experiment  had  been  overcome, 
when  the  panic  of  1873  overtook  the  house,  and  broke  up  the 
partnership.  Soon  afterward,  Mr.  Meyenberg  invented  an 
imitation  of  a  bordered  lace  veil,  obtained  by  printing  a  white 
netting  with  black  flocks.  The  demand  for  these  veils  during 
the  following  Spring  justified  a  manufacture  of  125  to  150 
dozen  per  day.  The  success  of  this  enterprise  required  larger 
facilities,  which  have  been  obtained  at  Paterson,  where  suit- 
able premises  have  been  engaged,  looms  and  other  machinery 
purchased,  and  100  operatives  employed. 

Atwood  and  Richmond  (Mr.  Atwood  being  a  descendant 
of  one  of  the  original  Mansfield  Silk  Co.  proprietors)  also 
undertook  the  manufacture  of  machine  twist  at  Brooklyn, 
Conn.,  in  1866. 

In  1869,  A.  Soleliac  &  Sons  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
ribbons  in  West  29th  Street,  New  York,  and  in  1873  removed 
to  more  ample  quarters  (which  their  increasing  business  re- 
quired) in  the  Dale  Mill,  at  Paterson.  They  are  among  the 
largest  ribbon  manufacturers  in  the  country.  During  the 
past  year,  colored  dress  silks  have  been  a  prominent  feature 
in  this  firm's  products. 


5 


82 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


XV. 

Record  of  Advance  since  1869. 

HE  westward  progress  of  silk  manufacture  may 
be  inferred  at  this  period  from  legislative  ac- 
tion in  California.  A  law  authorizing  a  bounty 
for  mulberry  plantations  and  the  production 
of  cocoons  was  passed  in  1 866,  but  soon  after- 
Avard  repealed.  Some  years  subsequently  a  bill 
was  introduced  in  the  California  Senate  to 
encourage  silk  culture  and  manufacture,  "  but 
was  defeated  by  a  large  majority.  In  1869,  E.  de  Bossiere, 
a  French  capitalist,  whose  efforts  at  silk  culture  have  been 
already  narrated,  started  a  silk  mill  in  Kansas,  at  Silkville, 
Williamsburg  P.  O.,  Franklin  County  ;  gradually  added  to 
his  buildings  and  machinery ;  and  attempted  the  manufacture 
from  French  thrown  silk,  of  velvet  ribbons,  which  have  proved 
of  excellent  quality.  In  1 870,  the  California  Silk  Manufacturing 
Co.  commenced  the  manufacture  of  tram,  organzine,  fringe  silk, 
sewing-silk  and  twist,  at  South  San  Francisco.  Their  reported 
capital  was  $50,000  ;  while  they  were  desirous  of  encouraging 
the  production  of  raw  silk  in  California,  they  were  obliged  at 
first  to  import  their  silk  from  China  and  Japan.  In  1872,  the 
Union  Pacific  Silk  Co.  was  incorporated  at  San  Francisco, 
with  a  capital  of  $250,000,  for  silk  weaving  and  the  manufac- 
ture of  broad  goods,  and  had  at  a  recent  date  a  factory  with 
50  looms  in  position. 

In  1870,  the  Norwich  Loom  Company  began  the  manufac- 
ture of  ribbons  at  their  works  in  Preston,  near  Norwich, 
Conn.  They  had  previously  been  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  suspenders.  They  changed  their  style  to  the  Uncas 
Ribbon  Co.,"  in  July,  1875.  W.  H.  H.  K.  C.  Higgins  is  their 
treasurer ;  E.  Oldfield  their  superintendent. 

In  1870,  Robert  Simon  came  to  the  United  States,  and  was 
engaged  by  John  N.  Stearns,  then  a  large  manufacturer  of 
gros  grain  dress  silks.  In  1871,  Mr.  Simon  passed  into  the 
employ  of  E.  P.  Moore  &  Co.,  of  Paterson,  who  were  also 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


83 


making-  dress  goods.  In  1873,  he  was  engaged  by  Messrs. 
Benkard  &  Hutton  to  superintend  their  factory  in  West 
Hoboken,  N.  J.  In  April,  1875,  Robert  and  Herman  Simon 
started  a  new  mill  in  the  town  of  Union,  N.  J.,  2^  miles  from 
West  Hoboken  ferry.  They  stocked  this  mill  with  new  ma- 
chinery, including  spinners  made  by  the  Danforth  Locomotive 
&  Machine  Co.,  of  Paterson,  N.  J. ;  power-looms  by  Van 
Winkle,  of  the  same  city ;  spooling  and  warping  machines 
imported  from  Europe;  and  in  addition,  looms  partly  con- 
structed according  to  peculiar  plans  furnished  by  Robert 
Simon.  They  now,  (1876)  have  50  hand-looms  and  50  power- 
looms  for  making  dress  silks.  Their  average  production  is 
valued  at  $350,000  per  year. 

Streeter  and  Wood  (now  Streeter,  Merrick  &  Co.)  began 
the  manufacture  of  machine  twist  in  1 871,  at  Shelburne  Falls, 
Mass. 

The  Silk  Manufacturing  Company  of  College  Point,  Flush- 
ing, L.  I.,  started  the  manufacture  of  tram,  organzine  and  rib- 
bons, in  April,  1872.  The  business  has  been  conducted  by  Hugo 
Funke,  its  former  President,  for  his  sole  account,  since  January, 
1875,  under  the  firm  name  of  Hugo  Funke.  In  1872,  also,  the 
firm  of  Pelgram  &  Meyer  established  their  factory  at  Paterson, 
N.  J.  Their  manufacture  includes  almost  every  kind  of  silk 
fabrics,  though  ribbons  and  piece  goods  are  their  specialties. 

The  same  year,  also,  the  Central  Village  Silk  Company 
began  operations  at  Central  Village,  Conn.  In  the  Summer 
of  1872,  the}^  built  a  mill  42x100  feet,  four  story  and  attic, 
at  Scranton,  Pa.,  and  were  there  incorporated  in  October, 
1873,  as  the  Scranton  Silk  Co.  Their  specialty  from  the  first 
has  been  the  manufacture  of  tram  and  organzine. 

In  1873  the  firm  of  Brainerd,  Armstrong  &  Co.  modified 
the  arrangements  for  the  manufacture  of  their  goods  by  the 
Nonotuck  Silk  Company  of  Florence,  Mass.,  and  they  have 
more  recently  begun  making  some  portion  of  their  own  goods 
at  Willimantic,  Conn.  The  firm  of  Brainerd  &  Armstrong 
was  formed  in  1867,  the  partners  being  James  P.  Brainerd, 
previously  of  Williams  &  Co.,  silk  merchants,  469  Broadway, 
and  Benjamin  A.  Armstrong,  a  salesman  in  the  same  house. 


84 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


The  admission  of  L.  O.  Smith,  in  1870,  made  the  present  firm 
of  Brainerd,  Armstrong  &  Co.  They  have  salesrooms  in 
New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  1869,  a  meeting  of  silk  manufacturers 
was  held  at  the  rooms  of  the  American  Institute.  The  late 
William  J.  Horstmann,  of  Philadelphia,  presided.  Resolutions 
were  passed  declaring  that  it  was  for  the  interest  of  the  silk 
manufacturing  trade  to  have  the  products  of  the  industry  well 
represented  at  the  XXXVIIIth  exhibition  of  the  American 
Institute.  An  association  was  formed,  on  the  2d  of  July  fol- 
lowing, to  promote  the  enterprise.  Its  title  was.  The  Na- 
tional Association  of  Silk  Manufacturers  for  the  Exposition  of 
1869.  The  following  officers  and  managers  were  elected: 
President,  Robert  Hamil,  of  Paterson,  N.  J.;  Vice-President 
Frederick  Baare,  of  Schoharie,  N.  Y. ;  Treasurer,  Albert 
Tilt,  of  New  York  ;  Secretary,  James  S.  Shapter,  of  Paterson, 
N.  J. ;  Managers,  William  J.  Horstmann,  Ward  Cheney,  J. 
Maidhof,  J.  Silbermann,  L.  Kammerer,  George  B.  Skinner, 
William  Strange,  John  C.  Ryle  and  B.  Richardson.  At  the 
July  meeting  a  committee  was  appointed  to  take  measures  for 
obtaining  the  co-operation  of  the  silk  trade. 

This  was  the  first  organized  effort  made  to  unite  the  silk 
manufacturers  for  their  common  benefit,  and  it  was  the  germ 
from  which  grew  the  Silk  Association  of  America.  The  next 
step  leading  to  that  organization  was  taken  by  the  Silk  In- 
dustry Association  of  Paterson,  N.  J.,  which  re-organized  in 
May,  1872,  with  the  following  officers  and  board:  President, 
Robert  Hamil;  Vice-President,  William  Strange;  Treasurer, 
L.  R.  Stelle;  Secretary,  J.  P.  McKay;  Managers,  Thomas  N. 
Dale,  C.  Greppo,  and  B.  Salter.  That  was  and  still  is  a  local 
Association;  it  was  founded  in  1858,  with  John  Ryle  as 
President,  and  L.  R.  Stelle,  Secretary. 

On  the  1 2th  of  June,  1872,  the  Silk  Industry  Association 
issued  a  call  to  silk  manufacturers  to  form  a  national  organiza- 
tion. Forty-four  firms  and  companies  answered  the  call, 
and  held  a  mxeting  in  New  York  Cit}',  June  26th,  1872,  at 
which  the  Silk  Association  of  America  w^as  organized.  The 
inception  of  the  undertaking  was  largely  due  to  the  exertions 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


85 


ot  the  late  William  J.  Horstmann,  although  he  did  not  live  to 
see  the  Association  organized. 

The  Silk  Association  of  America  has  for  its  principal  object 
a  hearty  union  and  co-operation  of  silk  manufacturers  in  all 
measures  and  undertakings  which  affect  their  common  inter- 
ests. The  influence  of  the  silk  manufacturers,  as  a  body,  has 
already  been  largely  increased  by  such  unity  of  purpose  and 
effort.  In  the  various  emergencies  in  which  the  manufacture 
is  liable  almost  at  any  moment  to  be  placed  by  our  legislators, 
the  Association  provides  a  headquarters  for  counsel,  consid- 
eration and  combined  action.  There  are,  of  course,  many 
minor  matters  of  general  concern  to  the  silk  trade  in  which  the 
Association  can  render  special  service.  Among  its  most  val- 
uable labors  are  the  preparation  of  periodical  reports  on  the 
various  branches  of  the  silk  trade  and  manufacture,  and  the 
collation  of  elaborate  and  careful  statistics  which  throw  new 
light  upon  the  business,  and  enable  operations  to  be  based  on 
an  accurate  knowledge  of  supply  and  demand. 

The  office  of  the  Association  is  at  93  Duane  Street,  New 
York.  The  following  are  the  present  officers  and  board : 
President,  F.  W.  Cheney;  Vice-Presidents,  Thomas  N.  Dale, 
A.  B.  Strange,  and  William  Ryle;  Directors,  F.  O.  Horst- 
mann, B.  Richardson,  Geo.  B.  Skinner,  Ira  Dimock,  William 
Strange,  C.  Greppo,  A.  Soleliac,  William  Skinner,  Seth  Low, 
I.  A.  Hopper,  George  H.  Burritt,  L.  Bayard  Smith,  M.  M. 
Belding,  D.  O'Donohue,  A.  G.  Jennings,  Louis  Franke,  C. 
Lambert,  John  T.  Walker,  J.  W.  C.  Seavey,  and  Frank 
Cheney;  Treasurer,  John  N.  Stearns;  Secretary,  Frankhn 
Allen. 

The  Silk  Association  of  America,  in  its  first  annual  report. 
May  14,  1873,  announced  the  production  of  silk  goods  by 
American  manufacturers,  for  the  year  ending  December  3 1, 
1872,  as  being  of  the  aggregate  value  of  $25,073,201.  One 
hundred  and  forty-seven  establishments  reported,  and  the 
amount  of  capital  invested  was  stated  at  $15,316,414,  the 
number  of  operatives  employed  11,713,  and  the  Avages  paid 
them  $4,878,054.  The  home  consumption  of  foreign  silk 
goods  had  diminished  from  $34,451,687,  in  the  year  ending 


86 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


December  31,  1871,  to  $24,214,283  in  the  year  ending  Decem- 
ber 31,  1873. 

In  its  report  presented  in  May,  1874,  the  Association  an- 
nounced that  there  were  156  manufacturing  firms  in  the  coun- 
try, employing  10,651  operatives,  and  a  capital  of  $15,988,877  ; 
their  products  for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1873,  (the 
latter  part  of  the  year  having  been  one  of  financial  dis- 
aster and  panic)  were  only  valued  at  $19,894,874;  forty-two 
firms  were  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  sewing-silk  and 
twist,  and  had  produced  these  goods  to  the  value  of 
$6,649,682,  or  one-third  of  the  whole  silk  product.  The 
amount  of  imported  silk  goods  continued  to  diminish,  being  al- 
most six  million  dollars  less  in  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 
1874,  than  in  the  previous  year,  while  the  import  of  raw  silk  had 
been  steadily  increasing  until  the  disastrous  year  of  1873-4. 

The  Third  Annual  Report,  presented  in  May,  1875,  repre- 
sented that  there  were  180  silk  manufacturing  firms  in  the 
country,  in  thirteen  different  States;  167  being  in  the  five 
States  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts,  3  in  California,  3  in  Ohio,  2  in  Illinois,  and 
one  each  in  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Maryland,  Missouri 
and  Kansas.  The  number  of  operatives  employed  in  the  cal- 
endar year  1874  was  14,479,  viz.,  5,134  males  and  9,345  fe- 
males. The  amount  of  wages  paid  was  $4,497,319  ;  the  capi- 
tal invested  was  reported  at  $14,708,184,  and  the  product  of 
the  year  $20,082,482.  Of  this  product  the  thrown  and  spun 
silks  amounted  to  $3,863,325,  sewing-silks  and  machine  twist 
to  $5,766,648,  dress  silks  and  foulards  to  $1,900,000,  milhnery 
and  necktie  silks  and  handkerchiefs  to  $1,477,477,  ribbons  to 
$2,776,836,  laces,  braids  and  trimmings  to  $4,298,196.  The 
imports  of  raw  silk  in  1874  were  1,101,681  pounds,  and  its 
value  $4,504,306;  and  the  value  of  manufactured  silks 
imported  into  New  York  during  the  calendar  year  was 
$23,292,551,  nearly  $1,100,000  less  than  the  preceding  year. 
For  a  year  of  commercial  depression  the  showing  was  a  very 
fair  one.  We  give  elsewhere  the  statistics  of  the  year  1875, 
presented  at  the  annual  meeting  in  April,  1876. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


87 


XVl. 

Methods  of  Manufacture, — Reeling,  Throwing 
and  Dyeing, 

HE  various  processes  which  silk  undergoes  in 
its  transformation  from  the  fine  and  attenuated 
filaments  of  the  cocoon  to  the  heavy  texture  of 
substantial  dress  silks,  or  to  the  wondrous  fab- 
rics wrought  by  the  Jacquard  loom,  involve  an 
enormous  amount  of  labor,  the  cost  of  which  is 
chiefly  represented  in  the  price  of  silk  goods,  the 
mere  cocoons  being  comparatively  inexpensive. 
The  first  process  is  reeling,  an  art  which  seems  very  simple, 
but  which  really  requires  much  skill,  tact,  experience,  patience 
and  watchfulness,  and  on  which  ingenuity  has  been  lavished. 
Very  numerous  have  been  the  inventions  of  silk  reels,  by  men 
who  did,  and  not  a  few  by  those  who  did  not,  appreciate  the 
special  mechanical  difficulties  to  be  overcome.  One  of  these 
obstacles  is  the  variable  length  of  silk  in  the  cocoons.  No 
two  of  the  same  breed  of  worms  will  spin  just  the  same 
amount ;  and  between  cocoons  from  different  breeds,  or  those 
spun  under  different  circumstances,  the  length  varies  from  300 
to  1,300  yards.  This  variable  length  necessitates  joining  the 
filaments,  of  which  usually  from  six  to  ten  are  reeled  together 
to  form  a  single  thread  of  silk.  The  cocoons  vary  not  only 
m  length  but  in  fineness  ;  indeed  different  portions  of  the  same 
cocoon  vary  greatly  in  this  respect ;  and  in  some  of  the  best 
reeling  the  outer  third  of  the  cocoon  (after  the  floss  is  taken 
off)  is  reeled  by  itself,  and  the  inner  portions  in  two  separate 
lots.  The  reeling  must  not  be  too  close  to  the  chrysalis,  as 
that  portion  of  the  silk  is  inferior,  and  not  generally  of  good 
color.  There  are  also  double  cocoons,  soft  cocoons,  imperfect 
cocoons,  and  those  in  which  from  disease  the  worm  has  per- 
ished, in  its  not  quite  completed  cocoon.  These  can  never 
be  reeled  completely,  and  often  not  at  all.    The  water  in 


88 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


which  the  cocoons  are  placed  for  reeling  must  not  be  too  hot, 
or  it  partially  dissolves  the  silk  ;  nor  too  hard,  or  it  renders 
the  gum  on  the  silk  too  brittle,  and  makes  the  silk  liable  to 
break.  The  dupions  or  double  cocoons  can  only  be  reeled 
from  boiling  hot  water,  which  would  greatly  injure  the  good 
cocoons. 

The  best  method  of  getting  over  the  difficulties  of  reeling 
would  seem  to  be  the  establishment  of  filatures  or  large  reel- 
ing establishments,  in  which  the  reeling  can  be  conducted  by 
steam  or  water-power,  under  the  management  of  skilled  and 
competent  operators ;  the  proprietors  of  the  filatures  purchas- 
ing the  cocoons  at  prices  regulated  by  their  quality.  We 
make  this  suggestion  with  diffidence,  for  thus  far  in  the  his- 
tory of  silk  culture  in  this  country  no  filature  has  ever  been 
financially  successful,  nor  has  the  highest  price  these  estab- 
lishments have  been  able  to  pay  (and  some  of  them  have  paid 
more  than  they  could  afford)  for  cocoons,  been  sufficient  to 
make  the  rearing  of  silk-worms  profitable.  The  question  of 
a  filature  is,  however,  one  of  little  present  practical  import- 
ance, as  most  of  the  silk  imported  is  already  reeled. 

And  here  let  us  state  an  interesting  fact  relative  to  the  reeling 
of  the  Chinese  silk.  In  Mr.  Lilly's  valuable  little  pamphlet, 
"  The  Silk  Industry  in  the  United  States,"  already  mentioned, 
he  says :  '  At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  William  Atwood,  about  the 
year  1840,  Mr.  Ezra  Goodridge,  of  New  York,  sent  a  sample 
skein  of  American  silk  to  China,  with  an  order  for  a  few  bales 
of  an  article  to  be  similar  in  all  respects.  In  compliance  with 
this  order,  an  invoice  came  of  silk  described  as  ^  re-reeled  Can- 
ton.' The  skeins  were  fac-similes  of  the  American  sample. 
They  gave  great  satisfaction ;  and  up  to  the  present  time,  silk 
of  this  character  has  been  the  subject  of  large  importation." 
The  attention  of  Franklin  Allen,  Secretary  of  the  Silk  Asso- 
ciation of  America,  has  been  especially  called  to  this  para- 
graph. The  results  of  his  inquiries  may  here  be  briefly  stated. 
Mr.  Lilly's  statement  is  undoubtedly  true,  but  it  does  not 
cover  the  whole  ground.  Mr.  Nathan  Rixford,  already  men- 
tioned as  a  manufacturer  of  silk  machinery,  and  subsequently 
of  silk,  had  patented  a  silk-reel  of  his  own  invention,  a  material 


THE  SILK  INIJliSTRV  IN  AMERICA. 


89 


improvement  on  the  Piedmont  reel,  and  supplied  ten  of  these 
reels  to  Samuel  W.  Goodridge,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  who  sent 
them  to  China,  in  1840  or  1841,  by  Joseph  H.  Weed,  together 
with  samples  of  American  reeled  raw  silk,  not  doubting  that 
the  Chinese  silk  producers  would  adopt  the  reels  and  supply 
silk  reeled  with  a  traverse,  like  the  samples  supplied  them. 
A.  A.  Low,  of  New  York,  also  in  the  China  trade,  sent  sixteen 
of  these  improved  reels  to  China;  but,  hke  Mr.  Goodridge, 
found  great  difficulty  in  introducing  them,  owing  to  the 
prejudice  of  the  people.  Eventually,  however,  the  desired 
change  in  reeling  was  effected,  and  the  supply  of  suitably 
reeled  silk  thus  obtained  gave  an  impetus  to  its  consumption 
in  this  country,  without  which  American  manufacturers  could 
have  made  but  slow  progress.  Late  in  1853,  or  early  in  1854, 
John  T.  Walker  sent  reels  and  reelers  from  Canton  to  Shang- 
hai ;  and  there  had  Shanghai  silk  re-reeled,  having  previously 
sent  down  from  Shanghai,  a  number  of  bales  to  be  re-reeled 
at  Canton  in  the  same  form  as  the  Canton  silks  were  then 
being  reeled.  Messrs.  Goodridge  and  Walker  received  the 
first  lot  of  re-reeled  Shanghai  silk  sent  to  New  York.  At  first 
the  re-reeling  was  well  done ;  but  after  a  time  the  Chinese 
became  careless  about  it,  and  in  consequence  of  imperfect 
reeling,  the  re-reeled  silk  ceased  to  be  exported.  Re-reeling 
of  Tsatlees  and  Hainings  was  resumed  in  Shanghai,  in  1867, 
by  Ezra  R.  Goodridge  and  Co.,  and  has  continued  to  the 
present  day,  Frank  Goodridge,  son  of  Samuel  W.  Goodridge, 
going  out  to  China  for  the  purpose  of  having  the  process 
adopted.  The  re-reelers  have,  however,  again  fallen  into 
their  old  habits  of  doing  the  work  carelessly. 

It  should  be  remarked  that  the  quality  of  most  of  the 
Chinese  raw  silk,  now  brought  to  this  market,  is  inferior  to 
that  of  Italy  and  France,  not  in  the  intrinsic  chg.racter  of  the 
filaments  themselves  so  much  as  in  the  defectiveness  of  its 
reeling.  The  difference  in  cost  is  about  two  dollars  a  pound  ; 
but  the  waste  and  imperfection  of  the  Chinese  silk  are  for 
some  purposes  sufficient  to  make  the  Italian  raw  silk  the 
more  profitable  of  the  two,  even  at  its  higher  price.  The  raw 
silk,  when  imported,  comes  usually  in  picul  bales  of  one  hun- 


90 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


dred  and  thirty-three  and  a  third  pounds.  If  these  are  from 
China,  they  are  made  up  in  bundles  weighing  from  eight 
to  twenty-five  pounds  each,  protected  at  the  corners  by  floss 
or  waste.  The  packages  consist  of  skeins  of  varying  number 
as  they  differ  in  fineness,  the  Canton  silk  being  of  white, 
golden  yellow  or  straw  color,  the  Tsatlees  and  Hainings 
usually  white.  The  Itahan  silk  comes  in  bales  made  up  of 
skeins.  The  Broussa,  or  "  Brutia,"  (Turkey)  silk  is  a  very 
pure  white,  and  comes  in  bales. 

The  silk  is  taken  first  to  the  sorting-room,  and  the  various 
sizes  of  thread,  or,  in  other  words,  the  different  degrees  of 
fineness,  are  assorted,  each  by  itself.  A  parcel  of  skeins  is 
enclosed  in  a  light  cotton  bag,  and  soaked  in  water  at  about 
the  temperature  of  iio^  F.  for  a  few  hours,  for  the  purpose  of 
softening  the  gum  and  facilitating  the  process  of  winding. 
When  taken  out  of  the  water,  these  bags  are  put  in  an  open 
cylinder,  porous  on  the  sides,  and  set  in  a  machine  which  is 
operated  by  steam  power,  and  causes  the  cylinder  to  revolve 
with  great  velocity.  In  five  or  ten  minutes  the  water  is 
pressed  out  and  the  gum  sufficiently  softened  to  permit  of 
easy  winding.  It  is  then  wound  first  on  a  spool  about  3 J 
inches  in  length.  If  it  is  Chinese  silk,  it  is  cleaned  by  being 
passed  through  the  cleaning  machine  ;  each  thread  usually, 
but  not  always,  passing  between  two  sharp-edged  metal 
plates,  which  remove  any  unevenness,  leaving  the  filament 
smooth,  clean  and  even.  The  Italian  silk  does  not  usually 
require  this  cleaning.  The  silk  on  the  second  spool  is 
next  passed  to  a  doubling  machine,  where,  if  it  is  intended 
for  tram  or  organzine,  two  or  more  threads  are  joined  to- 
gether, and  drawn  upon  a  third  spool.  If  it  is  intended  for 
sewing-silk  or  twist,  four,  five,  six  or  more  are  doubled  to- 
gether. The  silk  in  this  state  is  put  in  the  spinning  machine, 
and  spun  a  certain  number  of  turns  per  inch,  the  twisting 
being  looser  for  tram  or  filling  than  for  warp  or  organzine. 
For  the  latter,  two  of  these  threads  are  doubled  and  spun 
upon  a  fourth  spool,  the  twist  being  reversed  to  make  the 
thread  stronger.  For  filling  or  tram,  two  threads  or 
more  are  twisted  together  somewhat  less  closely  than  in  or- 


Exhibited  at  Philadelphia  by  the  Danforth  Locomotive  and 
Machine  Company,  of  Paterson,  New  Jersey. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


91 


ganzine.  The  number  of  threads  thus  joined  depends  upon 
the  fineness  of  the  raw  silk,  and  also  upon  the  character  of 
the  goods  to  be  woven ;  belt-ribbons,  for  instance,  requiring 
a  coarser  shot  thread  than  bonnet-ribbons ;  and  some  sashes 
and  silk  dress-goods  requiring  heavier  filling  than  others. 

When  the  silk  is  thus  brought  into  the  condition  of  thrown 
silk,  tram  or  organzine,  it  is  usually  transferred  to  a  reel  and 
made  up  into  skeins  preparatory  to  being  dyed  of  the  desired 
color. 

The  processes  of  winding,  cleaning,  doubling,  twisting,  re- 
winding and  reeling  the  silk,  together  constitute  what  is  called 
throwing  (from  the  Saxon  thraivayi,  to  twist).  The  manipu- 
lator who  passes  it  through  these  various  processes  is  called 
a  throwster ;  and  the  silk  thus  treated  is  named  according  to 
the  various  purposes  for  which  it  is  designed :  dumb  singles, 
thrown  singles,  thrown  silk,  trams  or  organzine.  If  intended 
for  sewing-silk,  at  this  stage  called  gum  silk,  it  is  by  most  of 
our  manufacturers  put  upon  the  stretching  machine  else- 
M^here  alluded  to. 

Our  American  silk  manufacturers — especially  those  in  the 
sewing-silk  and  twist  trade — have  long  enjoyed  the  reputa- 
tion of  having  improved  materially  on  the  European  ma- 
chinery for  throwing  silks ;  but  the  throwing  machines  built 
by  the  Danforth  Locomotive  &  Machine  Co.  at  Paterson, 
are  greatly  in  advance  of  any  other  produced  in  Europe  or 
America.  These  machines,  of  which  we  give  engravings  on 
another  page,  are  adapted  to  either  tram  or  organzine ;  they 
are  made  either  two  or  three  stories  high  (the  third  or  upper- 
most tier  economizing  room,  and  increasing  the  capacity  of 
the  machine  fifty  per  cent.),  and  of  any  length  or  number  of 
spindles  desired.  The  Company  have  finished  one  set  32 
and  another  37  feet  long,  for  Paterson  silk  manufactur- 
ers. The  former  set  contains  684  spindles.  It  is  claimed 
that  these  frames  are  capable  of  producing  nearly  or  quite 
double  the  amount  of  work  per  spindle  as  compared  with  the 
latest  style  of  European  frames  ;  while,  large  as  they  are,  their 
mechanism  is  so  true  and  perfect,  and  runs  so  evenly  and  ac- 
curately, that  they  can  be  managed  by  two  attendants,  one 


92 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


on  each  side.  They  are  so  nicely  adjusted  and  evenly  bal- 
anced that  they  can  be  run  with  ease  7,000  or  8,000  revolu- 
tions per  minute  without  the  least  perceptible  wear.  The 
Company  sum  up  the  points  in  which  these  machines  are 
superior  to  others,  as  follows :  They  are  firmer  built,  giv- 
ing greater  steadiness  of  spindle,  and  requiring  less  labor 
to  keep  them  in  running  order ;  they  have  a  longer  drag, 
which  gives  the  thread  a  better  chance  to  get  the  desired 
complement  of  twist,  thereby  overcoming  the  kink  or  curl 
so  obnoxious  to  silk  manufacturers ;  they  have  also  a  per- 
fect driving  apparatus,  easily  adjusted,  and  the  most  im- 
proved collar  and  step  for  oiling ;  they  can  be  made  either 
for  friction  or  positive  motion  ;  in  the  reel  mills  or  reeling 
machines  the  spindles  can  be  driven  either  way  without  cut- 
ting the  bands,  by  simply  using  a  cross  or  open  belt.  The  very 
general  adoption  of  these  frames  by  the  larger  manufacturers, 
and  the  constant  orders  received  by  the  Danforth  works,  indi- 
cate that  their  claims  are  fully  justified.  This  Company  also 
build  ribbon  looms  with  shuttles  for  weaving  twenty-eight 
ribbons  in  each  loom. 

The  adoption  of  such  improved  machinery  as  this,  and 
the  other  inventions  of  ingenious  manufacturers,  have  enabled 
our  American  silk  manufacturers  to  hold  their  position  in 
spite  of  the  high  price  of  labor  here,  by  making  the  machines 
perform  much  of  the  labor  which  in  Europe  and  the  East  is 
performed  by  hand. 

The  silk  being  ready  for  the  dyer,  is  delivered  to  him  in 
skeins.  He  first  boils  it  in  soap  and  water,  to  free  it  from 
any  remaining  gum,  and  to  give  it  a  more  lustrous  ap- 
pearance. When  dried  it  is  next  put  into  the  dye-vats, 
and  then  there  is  an  opportunity  for  deception  either 
on  the  part  of  the  dyer  or  the  manufacturer.  By  the 
boiling  process  already  mentioned,  the  silk,  if  pure,  should 
lose  about  twenty-four  per  cent,  of  its  weight,  from  gum, 
sugar,  waste,  &c.  If  it  loses  more,  the  silk  has  been  tampered 
with  or  not  properly  thrown ;  if  less,  it  must  be  of  remarkably 
good  quality  or  has  not  been  boiled  long  enough.  A  pound 
of  silk  delivered  to  the  dyer  will  thus,  after  boiling,  weigh  a 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


93 


fraction  over  12  ounces.  But  by  secrets  known  to  his  art, 
the  dyer  can  so  fill  the  interstices  of  the  silk  with  dye-stuffs  as 
to  make  it  appear  more  solid,  and  thicker,  and  stronger  than 
it  naturally  would  be,  although  in  fact  its  texture  is  injured. 
By  thus  weighting  the  silk,  as  the  process  is  called,  he  may 
raise  the  12-^  ounces  to  16,  18,  20,  25,  or  even  to  80  ounces. 
Many  of  the  foreign  dress  silks  are  thus  weighted,  and  while 
they  have  the  appearance  of  heavy  and  valuable  silks,  their 
wearers  find  that  they  grow  thinner  rapidly  in  wearing,  and 
very  soon  crack  or  fray  from  the  injury  done  to  the  fabric  by 
the  dye-stuffs.  By  general  consent,  black  or  dark-colored 
silk  is  allowed  to  be  weighted  sufficiently  to  make  up  partly 
the  loss  by  boihng.  The  12^  ounces  may  be  made  up  to 
fourteen  or  perhaps  sixteen  without  injury.  Light  colors 
do  not  bear  so  much  weighting ;  most  of  them,  indeed,  admit 
of  no  addition  from  the  dyes. 

When  dyed,  the  silk  is  wound  on  spools,  a  process  requiring 
much  skill  and  care,  as  it  is  now^  in  the  condition  known  as 
soft  silk.  The  operatives  who  perform  this  work  are  a  sepa- 
rate class  known  as  soft-silk  winders.  It  is  now  ready,  either 
for  sewing-silks,  twists,  passementerie  and  dress  trimmings  or 
fringes,  or  to  be  prepared  for  weaving  in  braids,  ribbons,  laces, 
sashes,  handkerchiefs  or  broad  goods.  For  each  description 
of  goods  the  processes  differ. 

For  sewing-silk  and  twist  the  processes  of  throwing  and 
dyeing  complete  the  manufacture,  except  that  for  these  a 
larger  number  of  threads  are  twisted  together  than  for  tram, 
organzine  or  singles,  and  in  twist  the  twisting  is  done  in  the 
contrary  direction  from  that  for  sewing-silk.  Some  of  the 
best  sewings  and  twist  are  made  from  Italian  raw  silk,  and  the 
waste  on  this  is  so  slight  that  the  extra  cost  of  the  Italian 
(about  $2.00  per  pound)  is  nearly  made  up  by  the  difference 
in  the  amount  of  waste.  Most  of  the  manufacturers,  however, 
use  Chinese  silk,  and  by  means  of  the  Atwood  &  Holland 
stretching  machine  are  able  to  make  a  silk  which  would  other- 
wise be  somewhat  rough  and  knotty,  as  even  and  smooth  as 
the  best  Italian.  This  machine  stretches  these  uneven  strands, 
while  wet,  till  they  become  smooth  and  even,  exerting  suffi- 


94 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


cient  force,  in  most  instances,  to  increase  slightly  the  length 
of  the  strands.  The  manufacturers  who  use  the  machine  say 
that  this  amount  of  stretching  does  not  impair  the  elasticity 
of  the  silk,  and  that  when  dry  it  has  a  uniform  tension.  Those 
who  do  not  use  it,  contend  that  it  impairs  both  the  elasticity 
and  strength  of  the  goods.  Both  agree  that  raw  silk  of  the 
best  qualities  (the  Italian)  does  not  require  much,  if  any  stretch- 
ing. It  is  worthy  of  notice,  however,  that  the  greater  part 
of  the  sewing-silk  and  twist  made  in  this  country  is  put  upon 
the  stretching  machines.  Mr.  Brown,  the  junior  of  the  firm 
of  L.  D=  Brown  &  Son,  sewing-silk  manufacturers  of  Middle- 
fown.  Conn.,  has  patented  a  traverse  or  spreader  for  the  swift 
or  reel  used  in  reeling  the  soft  silk,  (that  is,  silk  which  has  been 
dyed,)  which  is  said  greatly  to  facilitate  the  process  of  reel- 
ing and  spooling.  The  Messrs.  Brown  are  also  patentees 
of  a  weighing  and  spooling  machine,  which  enables  them  to 
put  upon  each  of  the  large  spools  just  an  ounce  of  silk.  Sew- 
ing-silk and  twist  are  made  of  all  colors,  and  the  prices  at 
which  they  can  be  sold  vary  with  the  amount  of  weighting 
^with  dye-stuffs.  There  is,  however,  a  growing  demand  for 
pure  silks ;  some  of  the  trades  will  use  only  these,  and  the 
manufacturer  who  is  known  to  weight  his  silks  to  any  con- 
siderable extent,  soon  finds  himself  not  burdened  with  a 
weight  of  customers.  Tests  have  been  invented  which  en- 
able the  purchaser  or  the  conditioner  to  ascertain  exactly  how 
heavily  the  silk  is  charged  with  dye-stuffs.  About  two- 
sevenths  of  the  whole  product  of  manufactured  silk  consists 
of  sewing-silks  and  twist. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


95 


XVII. 

<-'^^^s^^-^  Narrozu  and  Broad  Goods. — Methods  of  Weaving. 

HE  manufacture  of  laces,  braids,  and  military, 
upholstery  and  dress  trimmings,  is  also  an  im- 
portant department  of  the  silk  manufacture. 
In  a  few  of  these  goods,  as  in  cords,  some  of 
the  tassels,  and  much  of  the  military  and  uphol- 
stery trimmings,  a  part  of  the  filling  or  some  of 
the  material  is  wool  or  cotton,  usually  covered 
with  silk ;  but  even  in  them,  the  greater  part 
is  of  pure  silk.  The  manufacturer  of  dress  trimmings,  braids, 
&c.,  buys  the  raw  silk — usually  Canton  and  Tsatlee — and 
has  it  thrown  of  different  degrees  of  fineness,  to  suit  his 
various  purposes.  It  is  also  dyed  in  the  shades  of  color 
demanded  by  the  prevailing  fashions.  It  is  then  distrib- 
uted to  the  different  departments  of  the  manufactory,  where 
in  one  place  fine  cords  of  cotton  are  wound  with  silk 
by  an  ingenious  machine,  and  afterwards  braided  into  a  cord 
for  trimming ;  in  another  the  silk  is  woven  into  braids  of 
different  widths,  some  very  broad,  some  so  narrow  and  fine 
that  they  seem  to  be  only  a  flat  thread.  These  braids  are 
then  crimped  by  crimping  cylinders  heated  by  a  gas  flame, 
and  subsequently  woven  into  headings,  gathered  into  tassels 
and  fringes,  or  grouped  into  masses  for  the  feathery  mara- 
bout trimming.  Part  of  the  silk  is  made  into  sewing-silk  of 
varying  degrees  of  fineness  (some  of  it  very  coarse)  for  fringe. 
Part  is  made  into  twist  or  gimp,  from  which  are  woven  head- 
ings for  fringe,  often  of  complicated  patterns  wrought  out  on 
the  Jacquard  loom,  but  sometimes  executed  with  more  labor 
and  greater  expenditure  of  time  on  the  old  French  and  Ger- 
man looms.  When  the  heading  is  woven,  a  net-work  is  at- 
tached to  it  by  hand  labor,  and  the  fringe,  of  a  great  variety 
of  patterns  also  wrought  by  hand,  is  appended  to  the  net- 
work. Almost  infinite  are  the  varieties  of  fringes  and  trim- 
nings  thus  wrought  by  hand,  because  the  fashions  and 


I 


96 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


patterns  change  so  often  that  the  machinery  which  would 
produce  those  of  to-day  with  greater  rapidit}.  than  hand 
labor,  is  very  costly,  and  in  six  or  eight  weeks  n  ight  be  en- 
tirely useless;  while  deft  and  nimble  fingers,  imptlled  by  an 
active  and  intelligent  brain,  can  adapt  themselves  at  once  to 
the  new  patterns,  and  though  slower  in  motion,  will  in  the 
end  do  more  than  the  machines.  It  is  the  old  story  of  the 
tortoise  and  the  hare.  It  is,  however,  due  to  the  manufac- 
turers to  say  that,  whenever  machinery  can  be  made  to  per- 
form this  work,  or  any  part  of  it,  for  any  considerable  period, 
they  are  ready  to  avail  themselves  of  it.  Some  fringes  are 
woven  on  looms,  and  either  cut  apart  in  the  middle  if  the 
fringe  is  to  be  short,  or  divided  at  the  end  and  so  made 
thicker  and  heavier,  if  it  is  to  be  long ;  but  the  tassel  fringes 
• — those  having  a  distinct  and  bulbous  head  for  each  little 
bunch  of  fringe — are  all  wrought  by  hand ;  so,  too,  is  the 
greater  part  of  the  marabout  trimming,  after  the  braids  have 
been  woven  and  crimped.  Much  of  this  trimming  is  very 
rich  and  costly.  The  larger  tassels  have  a  wood  foundation, 
over  which  the  silk  is  wound  or  woven,  and  then  perhaps  net- 
ted by  hand,  while  the  braided  cord  already  mentioned  is 
affixed  to  the  tassel  to  suspend  it.  Sometimes  the  braided 
cord,  or  a  cotton  cord  covered  with  silk  and  doubled  and 
twisted,  is  used  to  form  the  tassel.  This  is  particularly  the 
case  with  upholstery  trimmings.  Silk  buttons  are  partly 
woven  and  partly  wrought  by  hand,  the  hand  labor  forming 
the  greater  part,  in  consequence  of  the  almost  infinite  variety 
of  the  French  patterns ;  for  the  goddess  of  fashion  yet  makes 
her  headquarters  in  the  French  capital ;  her  behests,  and  hers 
alone,  are  obeyed  all  over  Christendom.  Somewhat  more 
than  two-ninths  of  the  whole  silk  production  of  the  United 
States  is  devoted  to  these  small  but  costly  articles. 

We  come  next  to  the  weaving  of  ribbons  and  broad  goods. 
There  are  many  varieties  of  these,  each  requiring  a  different 
method  of  treatment.  Gauze,  veiling,  and  the  thinnest  silk 
tissues,  form  a  class  by  themselves ;  handkerchiefs,  foulards, 
so-called  India  silks,  and  the  lighter  and  thinner  ribbons,  are 
also  a  class  by  themselves ;  and  so  are  milhnery  silks,  ties, 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


97 


scarfs,  and  fancy  silks.  Figured  and  embroidered  ribbons 
and  silks,  brocades,  &c.,  are  woven  on  the  improved  Jacquard 
looms  ;  while  bonnet,  belt  and  velvet  ribbons  are  woven  on 
gang-looms,  weaving  from  six  to  forty  pieces  at  the  same 
tmie.  Gros-grain  and  heavy  silks,  whether  black  or  colored, 
are  woven  on  power-looms,  and  arrangements  are  now  making 
for  the  production,  by  the  same  means,  of  the  highest  grades 
of  dress  silks,  which  in  Europe  are  always  woven  by  hand. 

We  have  not  the  space,  nor  is  it  necessary,  to  go  into  a  mi- 
nute description  of  the  various  looms  in  use  for  silk  weaving. 
The  old  hand-loom  is  one  of  the  oldest,  simplest,  and  most 
Avidely-used  pieces  of  machinery  in  the  world.  It  was  known 
in  almost  its  present  form  to  the  Egyptians,  Phoenicians,  Per- 
sians, the  Aryan  tribes  w^ho  first  settled  India,  and  the  Chi- 
nese, more  than  4,000  years  ago.  There  is  even  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  it  antedates  the  Flood.  The  upright  posts  ;  the  dif- 
ferent sets  of  heddles  or  harness  depending  from  the  cross- 
beams above,  through  the  loops  or  eyes  of  which  the  threads 
of  the  warp  are  passed ;  the  roller  moved  by  a  crank  around 
which  the  warp  is  wound,  and  usually  a  second  roller  to  re- 
ceive the  woven  goods ;  the  shuttle,  which  with  its  bobbin  or 
quill  carries  the  thread  of  the  weft  or  fiUing  ;  the  swinging-bar ; 
the  reed  which  brings  each  thread  home,  or  in  the  weaver's 
phrase,  beats  it  up,"  and  the  treadle  which  depresses  alter- 
nately the  sets  of  harness — these  are  all  familiar  to  our  readers. 
The  figure  woven  depends  upon  the  number  of  heddles  or 
harness,  and  the  arrangement  of  the  warp ;  and  for  particular 
figures  there  may  be  an  arrangement  of  special  harness  and  a 
variety  of  shuttles.  Checks  or  plaids  may  be  made  by  the 
introduction  of  shuttles  carrying  different  colored  bobbins. 

One  of  the  preparations  for  Aveaving,  whether  by  the  hand 
or  by  the  power-loom,  is  making  the  warp.  If  the  warp  is 
intended  for  a  dress  piece  to  contain  five  thousand  threads, 
two  hundred  spools  are  arranged  on  steel  wires  or  pins,  (on 
which  they  revolve  as  the  threads  are  drawn  off),  all  of  which 
are  placed  at  appropriate  distances  in  an  upright  frame  called 
a  creel.    Opposite  this,  about  two  or  three  feet  distant,  stands 

7 


98 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


the  mill,  a  wooden  frame  cylinder,  about  seven  feet  high,  made 
generally  from  five  to  ten  yards  in  circumference.  This  re- 
volves on  pivots  inserted  above  and  below,  and  is  turned  by  a 
crank  at  the  convenience  of  the  warper,  the  crank-pulley  and 
the  mill-pulley  being  connected  by  a  rope  band.  The  ends 
from  each  spool  are  taken  and  pressed  through  two  hundred 
eyelets  forming  part  of  a  piece  of  mechanism  called  a  jack, 
which  serves  the  double  purpose  of  dividing  the  threads  for  a 
leise,  and  guiding  them  on  to  the  cylinder  or  mill  as  it  revolves. 

The  jack  is  affixed  to  an  upright  beam,  situated  between  the 
mill  and  the  creel,  traversing  from  top  to  bottom  and  bottom 
to  top,  the  jack  being  drawn  up  by  means  of  a  cord  attached 
to  the  upper  pivot  and  let  down  by  the  unwinding  of  the  cord. 

For  a  five-thousand-thread  warp,  and  two  hundred  threads 
or  spools  in  the  creel,  it  is  evident  that  twenty-five  upward 
and  downward  motions  of  the  jack  are  necessary  before  the 
bulk  of  the  warp  has  received  its  full  quota  of  threads  ;  a  leise, 
or  equal  division  of  the  warp,  being  taken  on  each  arrival  of 
the  jack  at  the  upper,  or  lower  part  of  the  mill,  as  the  warper 
prefers ;  as  by  means  of  this  division  of  threads,  a  coarse  string 
being  introduced,  the  warp  can  be  drawn  on  to  a  loom-roll  in 
a  straight,  even  way,  and  cleaned  or  picked  by  hand.  The 
length  of  the  warp  is  designated  by  the  number  of  revolutions 
of  the  mill. 

When  finished,  the  warp  is  drawn  from  the  mill  and  care- 
fully balled  on  the  hand.  The  ball  is  then  taken  to  the  picking- 
frame,  and  drawn  on  to  a  roll,  and  spread  out  in  sections  of 
30  or  40  inches  by  means  of  a  comb-like  instrument  called  a 
hackle.  It  is  next  prepared  to  be  drawn  on  the  loom-roll  by 
introducing  rods  through  the  warp  where  the  strings  were 
put  in.  The  warp  is  also  put  through  a  reed  which  is  drawn 
through  the  warp  with  the  rods  while  being  finally  picked  and 
wound  on  the  second  or  loom-roll,  and  threaded  through  the 
heddle.  The  number  of  heddles  varies  according  to  the  fabric 
woven,  and  they  are  so  arranged,  as  to  form,  by  depressing  the 
treadles  and  alternately,  the  shed,  through  which  the  shuttle  is 
to  be  drawn.  This  is  the  plan  generally  used  for  making  organ- 
zine  warps,  though  some  of  the  manufacturers  have  introduced 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


99 


newly  adopted  labor-saving  machinery  for  this  purpose.  The 
warp  thus  put  upon  the  loom  is  ready  for  weaving  whether  this 
is  performed  by  the  hand  or  power-loom,  and  whether  the 
weaving  is  to  be  plain,  or  as  satin  or  velvet,  or  twilled  on  one 
side,  or  in  figures  introduced  by  means  of  the  Jacquard. 

Ribbons  are  usually  woven  on  gang-looms,  weaving  from 
seven  to  twenty-eight  pieces  at  a  time.  These  are  generally 
power-looms.  In  the  practical  manufacture  of  ribbons  and 
broad  goods  in  this  country,  the  hand-loom  is  very  little  used. 
It  is  too  slow  in  its  action  to  be  profitable,  and  in  most  de- 
scriptions of  goods  better  results  can  be  effected  in  a  tithe  of 
the  time  by  the  use  of  power-looms.  In  the  adaptation  of 
these  machines  to  the  varied  needs  of  their  several  manufac- 
tures, several  of  the  leading  silk  houses  have  shown  great  in- 
genuity and  inventive  skill.  Messrs.  Horstmann  of  Philadel- 
phia have  won  distinction  in  this  direction.  Cheney  Brothers, 
and  some  of  the  other  large  manufacturers,  have  also  made 
improvements  in  the  adaptation  of  the  power-loom  to  their  ^ 
special  purposes.  The  problems  originally  to  be  solved  in 
the  invention  of  power-looms  were :  to  make  the  processes  of 
the  old  hand-loom  automatic,  exact  and  rapid  ;  to  obtain 
tenseness  in  the  warp ;  to  effect  its  gradual  unrolling  and  the 
rolling  up  of  the  woven  goods ;  to  drive  the  shuttle  back  and 
forth  at  the  proper  time ;  to  beat  up  the  tissue  properly ;  to 
effect  the  stopping  of  the  machinery  for  the  substitution  of 
a  new  filled  bobbin  when  the  one  in  the  shuttle  was  exhausted ; 
to  accomplish  ten  or  more  times  the  work  of  the  weaver 
within  a  given  period.  The  improvements  which  have  since 
been  added  permit  the  weaving  of  satins  and  velvets,  and  of 
most  goods  of  regular  figure  on  the  power-loom.  Various 
attempts  have  been  made  to  substitute  some  other  method  of 
carrying  the  weft  or  filling  for  the  shuttle.  Most  of  them 
have  failed,  but  a  recent  invention  known  as  the  Earnshaw 
Needle  Loom,  improved  by  J.  H.  Greenleaf,  has  seemed 
to  offer  a  hope  of  success.  It  is  in  effect  an  adaptation  of 
the  eye-pointed  needle  and  tiny  shuttle  of  the  sewing-machine 
to  the  loom,  in  carrying  the  filling.  The  so-called  needle  is 
an  eye-pointed,  slender  rod,  somewhat  longer  than  the  width 


lOO 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


of  the  goods  to  be  woven.  Its  eye  is  threaded  with  the  till- 
ing, which  is  fed  to  it  from  a  large  cop  at  the  right  of  the 
loom  (see  engraving  of  the  loom  accompanying  on  advertising 
page  5),  by  a  tension  something  like  that  of  the  sewing-ma- 
chine. The  needle  rod  is  driven  through  the  opening  in  the 
warp  by  a  variable  crank  motion,  and  on  the  left  side  inter- 
locks its  thread  with  a  fine  selvedge  thread  carried  by  a  small 
sewing-machine  shuttle  running  in  the  same  direction  as  the 
warp,  thus  producing  one  selvedge.  The  needle  rod  is  then 
retracted  and  the  changing  of  the  warp  produces  the  selvedge 
on  the  right  edge,  as  usual  in  other  looms.  It  is  claimed  for 
this  loom,  that  it  requires  a  much  narrower  opening  of 
the  warps,  thus  avoiding  the  straining  and  breaking  of  them 
which  is  a  serious  difficulty  in  the  use  of  the  shuttle  in  power- 
looms  ;  that  as  the  needle  rod  does  not  in  any  case  touch 
the  warp,  it  cannot  abrade  it,  as  the  shuttle  is  liable  to  do  j 
that  the  needle  is  fed  from  the  cop  continuously  (the  cop 
holding  if  necessary  many  thousand  yards),  and  thus  all  stop- 
pages to  put  in  new  quills  or  bobbins  into  the  shuttle,  and  all 
danger  of  overshot  places  or  defective  and  broken  fiUings, 
are  avoided.  By  an  ingenious  stop-motion,  invented  by  Mr. 
Greenleaf,  the  loom  stops  instantly  on  the  breaking  of  a  single 
thread.  These  looms  are  calculated  for  greater  speed  than 
that  of  the  ordinary  power-loom.  In  weaving  ribbons,  it  is 
claimed  that  one  girl  can  attend  from  six  to  ten  of  them,  run- 
ning at  the  rate  of  200  to  250  picks  per  minute ;  and  can  thus 
weave  from  300  to  350  yards  of  ribbon:  while  225  yards  is 
the  largest  product  of  the  best  gang-looms  attended  by  five 
or  six  girls.  In  broad  goods  the  estimated  production  is  35 
yards  per  day  when  the  power-loom  weaves  but  25,  and  the 
goods  should  be  more  free  from  breaks  and  flaws.  By  a 
very  simple  modification,  the  loom  can  carry  two  needles, 
and  thus  weave  goods  having  the  upper  and  under  surface  of 
different  colors.  The  loom  is  claimed  to  be  well  adapted, 
not  only  to  silk-weaving  of  all  descriptions,  but  also  to  mak- 
ing elastic  ribbon  webs,  tapes  and  braids  of  all  kinds. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


lOI 


XVIII. 


^-^'^^^^'^-^  Silk  Laces  and  Spun  Silk. 

HE  manufacture  of  silk  lace,  net,  and  fancy  silk 
scarfs,  has  also  been  introduced  into  this  coun- 
try, and  has  attained  a  considerable  magnitude. 
The  manufacture  of  hair-nets  is  conducted  by 
several  houses,  and  generally  not  on  a  very 
large  scale ;  but  the  production  of  guipure 
laces,  and  all  the  varieties  of  silk  lace,  such 
as  is  ma,de  by  machinery  at  Nottingham,  or 
anywhere  else  in  Europe  ;  of  silk  lace  scarfs,  borders  and 
edgings,  and  to  some  extent  of  veils,  curtain  laces,  &c., 
is  in  this  country  attempted  by  only  two  or  three  manufac- 
turers, of  whom  the  chief  is  A.  G.  Jennings,  of  Brooklyn.  Mr. 
Jennings  commenced  the  business  of  making  hair-nets  at  Jersey 
City,  in  1865  or  1866,  and  has  since  undertaken  to  extend  his 
manufacture  so  as  to  include  all  varieties  of  machine  lace.  He 
removed  to  Brooklyn  and  erected  the  Nottingham  Lace  Works, 
at  the  corner  of  Park  Avenue  and  Hall  Street,  in  1871,  where 
he  employs  a  large  force,  and  produces  silk  laces  which 
greatly  surpass  the  foreign  goods  in  quality,  and  are  sold  at 
a  lower  price.  He  is  enabled  to  do  this  because  he  conducts 
all  departments  of  the  work  on  his  own  premises.  At  Not- 
tingham, the  headquarters  of  the  English  lace  trade,  laces  are 
woven  by  small  manufacturers  owning  but  one  or  two  looms ; 
are  then  sold  to  the  dyer,  who  after  dyeing  them  sells  to  the 
large  jobber,  and  he  in  turn  to  his  English  and  foreign  cus- 
tomers. Thus  there  are  three  profits  to  be  made  on  the 
English  goods  before  they  come  into  the  hands  of  the  Amer- 
ican importer  and  jobber.  At  St.  Gall  the  manufacturing  is 
managed  in  much  the  same  way.  Mr.  Jennings  buys  his 
silk  ready  thrown  of  the  throwster  ;  but  all  the  processes 
of  making  the  patterns  for  the  laces,  weaving  them  on  the 
lace-looms,  and  introducing  his  new  designs  by  means  of 


I02 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


the  Jacquard  apparatus,  dyeing,  making  up,  finishing,  and 
putting  up  all  these  goods  for  the  market,  is  done  in  his 
manufactory.  Mr.  Jennings  attempted  to  make  thread  lace, 
but  the  duty  on  the  very  fine  threads  which  it  was  necessary 
to  import  was  so  heavy  that  the  laces,  though  of  excellent 
quality,  could  not  be  sold  at  a  profit,  and  he  has  since 
confined  his  attention  to  silk. 

He  has  been  under  the  necessity  of  importing  his  lace- 
looms  from  Europe.  For  some  years  he  was  even  obliged  to 
send  his  disk-bobbins,  of  which  he  uses  over  a  hundred  thou- 
sand, to  England  for  repair;  but  he  has  now  succeeded  in 
obtaining  workmen  who  can  repair  them  successfully.  Lace 
machinery  is  very  costly  ;  single  looms  cost  from  $7,000  to 
$10,000,  and  the  Jacquard  attachment  which  is  required  for  all 
except  those  which  make  only  the  plainest  lace,  is  a  heavy  addi- 
tional expense.  The  patterns  for  the  figured  laces,  scarfs,  &c., 
which  are  each  represented  by  a  set  of  cards  of  heavy  binder's 
board  perforated  for  each  stitch,  for  the  Jacquard,  cost  from 
$60  to  $100  each. 

No  description  of  the  lace  looms,  either  with  or  without  the 
Jacquard  apparatus,  would  be  intelligible  without  abundant 
drawings,  and  even  with  them  it  could  only  be  comprehended 
by  those  who  have  at  least  a  partial  mechanical  education. 
We  may  say,  however,  that  the  warp  in  these  looms  is  verti- 
cal instead  of  horizontal,  and  not  as  close  as  in  the  ordinary 
power-loom,  there  being  a  sufficient  space  for  the  disk-bobbin 
and  its  plate  to  pass  through.  The  weft,  or  filling,  is  fed  from 
a  great  number  of  spools  at  the  back  and  base  of  the  loom  (in 
one  case  we  were  told  that  2,400  were  in  use  at  once),  of  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  fineness,  according  to  the  design  to  be 
wrought  out.  The  Jacquard  controls  the  working  out  of  the 
figure,  taking  up  the  necessary  number  of  threads  of  the  warp 
to  accomplish  this,  and  with  a  skill  and  delicacy  utterly  in- 
comprehensible by  the  novice,  completing  the  most  beautiful 
designs.  Mr.  Jennings,  like  other  silk  manufacturers  whom 
we  have  named,  takes  pains  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his 
numerous  employes,    A  well  selected  library  is  furnished  for 


i 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA.  IO3 

their  use.  The  labor  is  fairly  paid,  and  not  too  severe  or 
protracted. 

John  Marr,  at  144  Centre  St.,  New  York,  is  believed  to 
have  been  the  first  to  attempt  lace  weaving  successfully  in  this 
country.  We  have  mentioned  his  establishment  and  noted 
his  progress  in  a  previous  chapter.  He  has  several  lace 
machines  in  active  operation,  as  well  as  the  Jacquard  attach- 
ment. 

Our  account  of  the  silk  manufacture  would  be  incomplete 
if  we  failed  to  notice  the  great  and  growing  industry  in  spun 
silk.  This  is  the  utilization  of  pierced  cocoons  which  cannot 
be  reeled,  the  floss  and  waste  of  silk  reeling,  the  broken 
threads,  &c.  A  fabric  and  thread  are  made  from  this  ma- 
terial of  great  strength  and  durability.  This  is  effected  by 
boiling  the  silk  in  soap  and  water,  thus  freeing  it  from  the 
gum  and  impurities.  It  is  then  hackled,  carded  and  spun, 
very  much  as  cotton  and  linen  yarns  are ;  spooled  as  singles, 
doubled,  twisted  and  rewound,  and  receives  different  treat- 
ment according  as  it  is  to  be  used  for  sewing-silks,  filling,  or 
warp.  Aside  from  its  employment  in  sewing-silks,  it  is  now 
used  in  warps  in  making  pongees,  Japanese  silks,  poplins, 
&c. ;  as  filling  with  organzine  warps  for  an  excellent  quality 
of  heavy  silks,  which  have  all  the  beauty  of  the  heavy  tram 
and  organzine  silks,  and  much  more  durability  than  any  of 
them.  It  is  also  used  largely  for  both  warp  and  filling  of  a 
very  endurable  but  lustreless  silk  of  moderate  price,  but 
which,  from  its  serviceableness  and  substantial  appearance, 
has  nearly  displaced  the  best  poplins  in  our  markets.  These 
goods  are  generally  known  as  spun  silks.  The  great  reduc- 
tion in  the  price  of  raw  and  thrown  silks,  during  the  year 
1875,  brought  them  down  to  figures  which  admitted  of  their 
use  in  many  cases  where  heretofore  spun  silks  only  could  be 
employed,  and  hence  has  diminished  to  some  extent  the  use 
of  the  spun  silk.  When  the  price  of  reeled  silk  advances 
again,  as  it  certainly  will,  the  cheaper  but  more  durable  pro- 
duct will  unquestionably  be  utilized  to  a  much  greater  extent. 
We  give  elsewhere  a  table  showing  the  amount  of  production 
of  spun  silks  in  the  different  countries  of  Europe.    It  is 


104 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


worthy  of  notice  that,  in  the  early  days  of  silk  culture  and 
manufacture  in  Connecticut,  the  farmers'  wives  and  daughters 
were  accustomed  to  card  and  spin  the  floss  and  waste,  and 
weave  from  it,  in  combination  with  either  wool  or  flax,  a 
stout,  durable  stuff,  very  serviceable,  but  of  not  much  beauty. 
Z.  Storrs,  in  the  Manual  prepared  by  order  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  in  1828,  estimates  that  in  1825  these  goods 
were  worth,  in  Mansfield  alone,  about  $14,000. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


105 


XIX. 

TJic  Jacqiiard  Weaving  Attachment. 

HE  apparatus,  known  commonly  as  ''the  Jac- 
quard  loom,"  is  not  a  loom,  but  an  appendage 
to  one ;  and  can,  indeed,  be  adapted  to  any 
loom.  It  is  the  invention  of  Joseph  Marie 
Jacquard,  born  in  Lyons,  France,  July  7,  1752. 
He  was  a  weaver  by  trade,  and  in  the  earher 
period  of  his  life  was  exceedingly  poor,  and 
assisted  his  wife  in  making  straw  hats.  It  is 
said  that  his  first  incentive  to  invention  was  due  to  an 
offer  in  a  newspaper  of  a  reward  for  an  improvement  in 
some  kind  of  machinery.  The  story  is  of  doubtful  authen- 
ticity. It  is  certain  that  he  again  followed  his  trade  as  a 
weaver  after  the  disturbances  of  the  French  Revolution  had 
subsided,  and  that  a  silk  manufacturer  of  Lyons  encouraged 
his  inventive  talent,  and  employed  him  to  improve  his  ma- 
chinery, with  a  view  to  substitute  mechanical  devices  for  the 
labor  of  the  draw-boys  in  making  figured  goods.  These  boys 
were  at  that  time  required  to  keep  a  constrained  position  at 
their  work,  which  usually  ruined  their  health  within  a  few 
years.  The  idea  of  his  invention  partially  dawned  upon 
Jacquard  in  1790;  but  he  did  not  complete  a  machine  before 
the  close  of  the  century.  In  1801  he  exhibited  his  apparatus 
at  the  Exposition  of  National  Industry,  and  obtained  a  bronze 
medal. 

Soon  after  this,  he  contrived  an  ingenious  machine  for 
making  nets.  Napoleon's  police  had  a  sharp  eye  for  smart 
men,  and  Jacquard  was  one  day  suddenly  taken  in  charge  by 
an  officer  and  sent  to  Paris.  There  he  was  summoned  before 
the  ruler  of  France.  Carnot,  the  Minister  of  Napoleon,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  spokesman  in  the  interview.  ''  Are 
you  the  man,"  he  said  to  the  inventor,  that  has  performed 
the  impossible,  in  making  nets,  by  tying  a  knot  in  a  taut 


Io6  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

string?"  Jacquard  convinced  Napoleon  of  his  ability,  and 
was  put  in  charge  of  the  machinery  in  the  Conservatoire  des 
Arts  et  Metiers.  It  is  currently  reported  that  the  loom  of 
Vaucanson,  which  was  among  the  machines  and  models  under 
Jacquard's  charge,  suggested  to  him  some  important  parts  of 
his  own  invention.  Vaucanson  was  undoubtedly  a  man  of 
overflowing  ingenuity,  as  was  shown  in  his  automatons.  One 
of  these,  according  to  current  description,  though  recent 
critics  throw  a  doubt  over  the  whole  story,  was  a  mechan- 
ical duck,  which  could  waddle  on  a  dry  surface  and  swim  in 
water.    All  its  motions  were  surprisingly  natural.    It  could 

quack,"  eat  and  drink,  and  its  food  was  digested  by  chem- 
ical means.  As  to  the  loom  which  Vaucanson  invented, 
however,  those  who  have  examined  the  model  are  unable  to 
perceive  how  it  could  have  furnished  inspiration  to  Jacquard. 
Napoleon  gave  Jacquard  a  pension  of  i,ooo  crowns.  In 
1804  Jacquard  returned  to  Lyons.  There  he  was  assailed  by 
a  mob  of  weavers  who  smashed  one  of  his  looms.  Two  years 
afterwards  the  Government  bought  his  invention  and  made 
it  public  property. 

The  Jacquard  apparatus  is,  as  we  have  said,  an  appendage 
to  a  loom.  It  is  easiest  to  conceive  of  it  in  two  parts  :  (i)  A 
box  containing  100  or  more  wires  or  needles  pointing  out- 
ward—  let  us  say,  toward  the  left  ;  (2)  a  hollow,  prism- 
shaped,  revolving  cylinder,  around  and  on  which  passes  a 
chain  of  cards  attached  to  each  other  by  their  edges,  like  a 
''Jacob's  ladder."  Let  us  deal  with  the  box  of  needles  or 
horizontal  wires  first.  Its  position  is  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
loom.  The  object  is  to  raise  the  warp  threads  below,  in  the 
order  and  number  required  for  the  passage  of  the  shuttle, 
according  to  the  pattern.  These  threads  are  attached  to  the 
lower  ends  of  long,  perpendicular  wires,  arranged  in  rows. 
The  upper  ends  of  these  wires  terminate  in  hooks.  In  order  to 
make  a  distinction,  let  us  call  these  hook-bearing  wires,  the 
vertical  wires.  The  hooks  can  catch  upon  a  series  of  bars ; 
the  bars  are  attached  to  a  frame  which  is  alternately  raised 
and  lowered  by  the  proper  mechanism.  If  the  bars  are  all 
raised  at  the  same  time,  and  every  bar  while  rising  carries  up 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


107 


its  appropriate  hook,  of  course  all  the  warp  threads  will  be 
elevated  ;  but  if  some  of  the  hooks  are  pushed  aside — let  us 
say  to  the  right — those  hooks  will  not  catch  on  their  respec- 
tive bars,  and  their  warp  threads  will  not  be  elevated  when 
the  others  are.  The  method  of  pushing  the  hooks  aside,  is 
this :  the  shanks  of  the  hooks  {i.  e.,  the  vertical  wires),  are 
passed  through  loops  in  horizontal  wires.  Pushing  the  latter 
to  the  right,  evidently  would  carry  the  former.  The  horizontal 
wires  are  kept  in  position  in  the  frame  or  box,  with  their  points 
protruding  outside  of  it — say  to  the  left.  The  other  ends 
(right)  of  these  horizontal  wires  terminate  in  spiral  springs, 
which  are  supported  against  the  inside  of  the  frame  or  box. 
It  follows  that  if  one  of  these  horizontal  wires  is  pushed  to  the 
right,  compressing  its  spring,  a  certain  vertical  wire  will  be 
so  displaced  that  its  hook  will  fail  to  catch  the  bar ;  but  when 
the  force  pushing  the  horizontal  wire  is  withdrawn,  the  spring 
will  bring  back  both  wires  so  that  the  hook  can  catch  the  bar, 
and  the  corresponding  thread  of  the  warp  be  raised  thereby. 

To  the  left  of  the  box  of  wires  is  the  flat-sided  (usually 
four-sided)  revolving  cylinder.  Each  of  its  sides  is  pierced 
with  holes  corresponding  in  number  and  position  with  the 
points  of  the  horizontal  wires.  The  cylinder  is  so  placed  that 
each  of  its  sides  is  brought  successively  against  the  points  of 
the  wires  as  it  revolves.  If  the  sides  of  the  cylinder  were 
alone  opposed  to  the  points,  the  wires  would  simply  enter  the 
holes,  and  no  effect  would  be  produced ;  but  if  some  of  the 
holes  be  stopped,  while  others  are  left  open,  the  wires  which 
touch  the  stopped  holes  will  be  driven  back  and  their  hooks 
disengaged,  while  the  wires  which  enter  the  holes  remain  un- 
disturbed, and  the  warp  threads  attached  to  their  vertical  wires 
are  raised.  This  stoppage  of  some  of  the  holes  in  each  face 
of  the  revolving  cylinder  is  effected  by  covering  it  with  a 
card  containing  holes  corresponding  to  those  in  the  bar,  but 
fewer  in  number ;  so  that  when  the  points  of  the  wires  come 
in  contact  with  an  unperforated  part  of  the  card,  they  are 
pushed  to  the  right ;  but  when  the  points  enter  the  holes  of  the 
card,  the  wires  are  not  moved,  and  consequently  the  hooks  re- 
main on  their  bars.  By  this  contrivance  the  intended  pattern  is 


I08  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

made  out.  If  the  pattern  be  complicated,  the  number  of  cards 
is  very  considerable.  The  revolving  cylinder  presents  a  new 
card  to  the  points  of  the  wires  at  every  quarter  of  a  revo- 
lution, the  holes  in  the  cards  being  so  arranged  as  to  raise  in 
succession  those  threads  which  will  make  out  the  intended 
pattern,  and  it  is  necessary  that  there  shall  be  as  many  cards 
as  there  are  threads  of  weft  in  the  pattern. 

A  portrait  of  Jacquard,  woven  in  silk  by  the  weavers  of 
Lyons,  representing  him  in  his  workshop,  surrounded  by  his 
implements,  and  planning  the  construction  of  the  apparatus 
which  bears  his  name,  required  24,000  cards,  each  card  being 
large  enough  to  receive  1,000  holes.  The  cards  are  fastened 
together  in  an  endless  chain,  one  complete  revolution  of  which 
makes  out  the  pattern.  A  picture  of  the  establishment  of  W. 
H.  Horstmann  &  Sons,  thus  woven  in  silk,  required  900  cards ; 
the  operation  of  weaving  was  performed  in  fifteen  minutes. 
The  Phoenix  Silk  Manufacturing  Co. — B.  B.  Tilt,  President — 
have  three  Centennial  looms"  in  operation  at  the  Exhibition 
at  Philadelphia,  which  show  the  Jacquard  weaving  apparatus. 
These  are  called  respectively,  the  400,  600  and  1000  machine ; 
the  figures  indicating  the  highest  number  of  holes  that  could 
be  punched  in  a  card  for  each.  Their  Washington-portrait 
book-mark  requires  fi:'om  6,000  to  10,000  cards ;  portraits  of 
Lincoln  and  Cardinal  McCloskey,  4,500  cards  each  ;  portraits 
of  the  President  and  Vice-President,  1,500  cards. 

In  preparing  these  cards  it  is  necessary  first  to  make  out  a 
design,  on  lined  paper,  similar  to  that  used  for  worsted-work 
patterns ;  each  of  the  spaces  enclosed  between  the  lines  rep- 
resents a  thread  ;  and  after  the  pattern  is  made,  the  holes  for 
the  cards  are  calculated  from  it  by  a  simple  process,  and  the 
holes  are  punched  by  a  machine  provided  for  the  purpose. 
The  Jacquard  loom  is  used  for  all  kinds  of  figured  work  on 
silk  goods,  except  where  the  figures  are  small  and  without 
curved  lines,  when  the  goods  can  generally  be  woven  on 
looms  of  a  simpler  construction. 


THE  JACQUARD  MACHINE. 

F,  rectangular  frame,  spoken  of  in  the  accompanying  chapter  as  a  "box,"  containing  the 
wires  of  the  apparatus.  H,  vertical  wires,  at  each  end  terminating  in  hooks  j  their  upper 
hooks  being  capable  of  catching  on  the  bars,  B.  Their  lower  hooks  hold  the  cords,  D, 
which  can  respectively  raise  the  warp  threads.  N,  the  horizontal  wires,  usually  known  as 
"  needles,"  each  having  a  loop  through  which  a  vertical  wire  passes.  Spiral  springs,  S, 
are  shown  at  one  end  of  each  horizontal  wire  j  the  other  end  of  each  passes  through  the 
side  of  the  frame  or  box,  F,  and  protrudes  about  half  an  inch,  being  pushed  out  by  the 
spring.  G,  the  flat-faced,  revolving  cylinder,  held  by  a  pin  at  each  end.  Each  of  its 
faces  or  sides  is  pierced  with  as  many  holes  as  there  are  "  needles,"  N,  in  the  machine. 
B,  the  bars  or  blades,"  set  within  a  separate  frame  (the  '*  blade-frame  ")  which  can  move 
up  and  down  in  the  rectangular  frame,  F.  There  is  a  bar  for  each  upper  hook.  L,  a  lever, 
on  bearings  M,  M ;  its  motion  lifts  the  blade-frame,  B,  and  at  the  same  time,  by  a  cam, 
A,  brings  the  cylinder,  G,  to  the  points  of  the  needles,  N.  (The  drawing  happens  to  be 
made  from  the  side  of  the  machine  opposite  to  that  described  in  the  accompanying  chapter  j 
hence,  the  right  hand  in  that  description  is  the  left  in  the  diagram.) 

W.  H.  Horstmann  &  Sons,  of  Philadelphia,  furnish  the  above  diagram  of  the  Jac- 
quard  Machine  with  which  they  weave  the  picture  in  silk  of  Independence  Hall. 
Specimens  of  this  piece  of  weaving  form  part  of  their  display  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition. 
The  design  alone  involved  eleven  weeks' labor.  The  piece  requires  1696  cards,  and,  of 
course,  an  equal  number  of  throws  of  the  shuttle,  and  of  threads  in  the  weft;  930  threads 
are  in  the  warp,  and  of  course  there  is  the  same  number  of  bars,  of  hooks,  of  needles,  and 
of  holes  in  each  face  of  the  cylinder.  Werner  Itschner  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia,  exhibit  a 
JacquarJ  Loom  in  operation  in  the  Women's  Pavilion,  Among  the  patterns  woven  by 
his  loom  is  a  representation  of  the  Pavilion  itself 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


109 


XX. 

Pater  son,  the  Lyons  of  America. 

ESTLED  among  the  foothills  of  the  Ramapo 
range,  and  distant  only  twenty  miles  by  rail 
from  the  Great  Metropolis,  lies  the  city  of 
Paterson,  which  claims  the  title  of  the  Lyons 
of  America. Here  the  tourist  going  westward 
by  the  Erie  Railway  has  his  first  glimpse  of  the 
mountain  scenery  penetrated  by  that  highway. 
Here  the  Passaic  river,  fed  by  innumerable  rills 
from  loftier  heights  beyond,  plunges  suddenly  downward  in 
a  fall  of  fifty  feet ;  then  tearing  its  way  between  perpendicu- 
lar cliffs  that  resemble  the  Palisades  of  the  Hudson,  it  sinks 
twenty-two  feet  further,  to  the  level  of  the  plain.  For  many 
years  before  the  Passaic  Falls  were  made  to  turn  the  wheels 
of  industry,  they  served  to  attract  visitors  by  their  pictur- 
esque beauty.  Thanks  to  the  energy  and  pubhc  spirit  of  John 
Ryle,  the  silk  manufacturer,  that  natural  beauty  has  been 
measurably  preserved  in  a  park,  the  free  use  of  w^hich  he  has 
given  to  the  public. 

Proximity  to  New^  Yoi'k,  the  water-power  of  the  Passaic, 
the  facilities  afforded  by  the  Morris  &  Essex  Canal,  and  at  a 
later  date  by  the  Erie  RaiUvay — all  these  wxre  causes  which 
made  Paterson  a  manufacturing  tow^n  ;  but  the  circumstances 
which  centered  in  it  the  silk  industry  were  somewdiat  peculiar, 
and  deserve  separate  mention.  In  bringing  together  the  de- 
tails for  a  sketch  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  silk  manu- 
facture at  Paterson,  it  will  be  necessar}^  to  allude  again  to 
some  of  the  facts,  and  to  repeat  many  of  the  names  already 
mentioned  in  this  history.  Perhaps  too  much  space  may  thus, 
be  given  to  some  of  the  earlier  biographies ;  but  while  the 
mill-owners  of  the  present  day  do  an  incomparably  larger 
business,  and  cover  far  more  ground  with  their  lofty  and  ca- 
pacious factories,  than  did  those  wdio  first  started  the  silk  in- 


no  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

dustry,  it  must  nevertheless  be  admitted  that  the  pioneers 
have  not  yet  been  surpassed  in  enterprise,  and  they  deserve 
credit  accordingly. 

The  Christopher  C.  that  discovered  a  new  world  in  New 
Jersey  for  silk  manufacturers,  was  a  son  of  Christopher  Colt 
of  Hartford.  The  father  was  President  of  the  Connecticut 
Silk  Manufacturing  Co.  during  its  existence,  1835  to  1839: 
he  is  described  as  magnificently  furnished  with  nature's  gifts, 
being  exceedingly  tall  and  of  commanding  presence.  Like 
his  brother  Samuel  Colt,  the  inventor  of  the  revolving  pistol, 
he  was,  though  in  a  different  way,  evidently  a  man  of  mark. 
The  senior  Colt  was  enthusiastic  on  the  subject  of  the  silk 
industry,  and  his  son  took  to  it  naturally.  Early  in  1838, 
Christopher  Colt,  Jr.,  becaxiie  for  a  brief  period  the  Agent  of 
the  Company  over  which  his  father  presided.  But  when  the 
misfortunes  which  ultimately  stopped  its  looms,  began  to  loom 
upon  the  Company,  the  junior  Christopher  went  to  Pater- 
son,  N.  J. 

Samuel  Colt  had  built  a  large  factory  in  Paterson  for  mak- 
ing revolvers.  He  offered  the  use  of  the  fourth  story  of  this 
factory  to  Christopher  Colt,  Jr.,  for  a  silk  mill.  Here,  also, 
were  at  hand  the  power  to  drive  machinery,  and  many  other 
facilities.  So  the  young  Colt  came  under  the  roof  of  the  older 
one ;  and  thus  for  the  first  time  the  silk  manufacture  was  housed 
in  Paterson,  N.  J.  Quite  probably  some  of  the  other  members 
of  the  Colt  family  took  an  interest  in  this  new  enterprise ;  it 
was  currently  reported  to  have  received  financial  aid  from 
Simeon  Draper,  of  New  York.  Mr.  Draper's  firm  at  that 
period  was  Draper  &  Crumble ;  he  has  since  acquired  fame 
as  a  public-spirited  citizen  of  the  Metropolis,  and  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Haggerty,  Draper  &  Jones,  noted  dry- 
goods  auctioneers.  A  considerable  quantity  of  new  machinery 
was  built  for  the  silk  mill,  and  eventually  it  was  started.  Its 
active  operations,  however,  only  lasted  during  three  months. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  the  want  of  success  was  due  to  deficient 
experience  on  the  part  of  the  Colt  family.  Perhaps  the  finan- 
cial support  tapered  off.    Whatever  were  the  causes,  the  result 


1 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


1 1 1 


was  the  closing  of  the  mill ;  its  stock,  machinery  and  fixtures, 
and  its  good-will,  if  it  had  any,  awaited  a  purchaser. 

John  Ryle,  of  Macclesfield,  England,  had  in  his  native 
town  learned  the  arts  of  silk  manufacture  while  in  the  employ 
of  his  older  brothers,  Reuben  and  WiUiam,  who  had  acquired 
wealth  and  high  position  as  silk  weavers.  Reports  reached 
England  of  the  strides  that  the  silk  industry  was  making  in 
America.  The  multicaulis  fever  was  then  at  its  height. 
Doubtless  the  glowing  hopes  of  our  silk  makers  were  re- 
flected across  the  Atlantic,  and  to  an  English  silk-weaver  the 
Western  sky  was  all  couleiir  dii  rose.  John  Ryle  packed  his 
traps  and  sailed  from  Liverpool  for  New  York,  March  ist, 
1839.  h'^^  never  seen  a  silk-worm  when  he  reached  this 
country,  and  he  was  anxious  to  see  one.  A  year  later  many 
people  in  this  country  were  anxious  never  to  see  a  silk-worm 
again.  Mr.  Ryle's  first  step  in  New  York  was  to  make  in- 
quiries of  Mr.  St.  John,  a  tailoring  merchant,  on  Broadway, 
with  whom  Samuel  Whitmarsh  had  been  in  partnership  pre- 
vious to  going  to  Northampton.  Following  Mr.  St.  John's 
directions,  Mr.  Ryle  went  to  Northampton,  but  stopped  on  the 
way  at  Hartford  long  enough  to  see  and  talk  with  Mr.  Colt, 
Senior.  The  shadows  of  adversity  were  even  then  gathering 
over  the  Connecticut  Company,  and  its  mills  were  not  in 
operation.  Mr.  Ryle  was,  however,  deeply  impressed  by  the 
advances  already  made  in  the  processes  and  machinery,  which 
were  described  and  shown  to  him  by  Mr.  Colt.  At  North- 
ampton Mr.  Ryle  found  everything  on  the  grand  scale.  He 
recognized  there,  as  at  Hartford,  the  fact  that  American 
methods  in  manufacture  were,  in  many  respects,  in  advance 
of  those  of  the  old  country.  But  on  a  more  careful  examina- 
tion he  perceived  that  many  minor  economies  were  neglected, 
and  he  felt  sure  that  the  mills  at  Northampton  and  Florence 
were  not  making  money  on  the  goods  they  turned  out.  He 
had  plenty  of  opportunity  for  examination  during  his  stay, 
for  his  duties  were  light.  The  actual  fact  was  that  the  man- 
ufacturing there,  at  that  period,  was  carried  on  for  a  mere 
show.  The  works  were  overrun  with  visitors,  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  active  business  in  manufacturing  silk  filled 


I  12 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


their  minds  with  notions  of  the  wealth  to  be  derived  from 
silk  culture.  In  short,  the  mills  were  kept  running  in  order 
to  increase  the  sale  of  mulberry  trees.  The  most  important 
thing  for  himself  which  Mr.  Ryle  did  in  Northampton  was 
to  make  the  acquaintance  of  G.  W.  Murray. 

During  the  great  depression  which  followed  the  collapse  of 
the  niiilticaiilis  bubble,  Mr.  Ryle  visited  several  silk  factories 
in  his  search  for  employment.  Months  elapsed.  One  day, 
to  his  great  joy,  he  met  Mr.  Murray  on  the  street  in  New 
York.  In  the  long  talk  over  the  fortunes  of  the  silk  business 
that  ensued,  Mr.  Ryle  suggested  that  when  things  were  at 
their  lowest,  then  was  the  time  to  buy ;  and  that  he  had  heard 
that  the  silk  mill  at  Paterson  was  for  sale.  The  upshot  was 
that  after  taking  Mr.  Ryle's  judgment  in  the  matter,  Mr.  Mur- 
ray bought  Colt's  machinery  as  it  stood  in  the  fourth  story 
of  the  pistol  factory,  for  $3,200.  He  put  Mr.  Ryle  in  charge 
under  a  contract  for  three  years'  employ.  That  was  the 
foundation  of  successful  silk  manufacture  in  Paterson,  which 
was  then  a  village  of  7,000  inhabitants. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  three-year  contract,  a  partnership 
was  formed,  the  firm  being  Murray  &  Ryle.  Three  years 
later,  in  1846,  Mr.  Ryle  was  assisted  by  his  brothers  in  Eng- 
land, to  buy  out  Mr.  Murray's  interest.  Up  to  this  period 
Mr.  Ryle  had  not  attempted  weaving  broad  goods,  but  as 
soon  as  he  became  sole  owner  of  the  establishment  he  pro- 
ceeded to  carry  out  this  darling  idea.  He  set  a  few  looms  at 
work  and  produced  several  pieces  of  dress  silk  of  a  thousand 
yards'  length.  In  1847  he  still  further  expanded  his  facilities 
by  purchasing  the  building  that  contained  his  machinery. 
To  complete  his  knowledge  of  silk  manufacture,  he  went  to 
Europe  in  1850,  and  visited  the  principal  factories  of  France 
and  Italy. 

For  nearly  twelve  years  from  its  foundation,  the  silk  mill  of 
Mr.  Ryle  had  no  rival  in  Paterson.  His  first  competitor  in  the 
business — John  C.  Benson,  a  cotton  manufacturer — then  built 
a  small  silk  mill  on  Bridge  Street.  For  three  years  after- 
ward that  was  the  only  competitor.  A  fair  specimen  of  the 
capacity  of  Mr.  Ryle's  estabhshment,  at  this  period,  was  the 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


manufacture  of  the  large  flag  which  waved  over  the  Crystal 
Palace  during  the  Exhibition  usually  called  "  the  World's 
Fair,"  at  New  York,  in  1852.  About  this  time,  he  purchased 
the  romantic  heights  bordering  Passaic  Falls.  He  conceived 
the  idea  of  making  this  charming  spot  a  pubhc  park,  free  to 
all  comers — a  breathing-place  where  the  working-people  of 
Paterson  could  come  and  enjoy  themselves.  To  this  end,  in 
the  following  years,  he  expended  large  sums  of  money  in 
adorning  the  place  with  bridges  and  other  structures,  and 
laying  out  suitable  walks  and  drives.  Popularity  came  with 
prosperity,  and  the  citizens  of  Paterson  made  him  their  mayor. 
In  1854  he  built  the  Murray  Mill,  covering  15,000  square  feet 
with  a  two-story  building,  which  was  then  one  of  the  largest, 
and  perhaps  most  thoroughly  equipped  of  the  silk  factories  in 
America.  His  oldest  brother,  who  had  retired  from  business 
in  Macclesfield,  came  over  to  see  him.  Mr.  Ryle,  of  course, 
took  his  visitor  to  the  Park,  showed  him  the  improvements, 
pointed  out  the  manufacturing  establishments,  the  growing 
city,  the  fertile  plain  below.  Then  calling  his  attention  to  a 
hill  where  he  proposed  building  a  mansion,  he  urged  his 
brother  to  bring  his  family  from  England  and  settle  there. 
To  clinch  matters,  John  Ryle  offered  to  build  the  new  home 
and  present  it  to  his  brother.  The  reply  was  short  and  de- 
cisive : 

John,  I  would  not  come  here  to  live  if  you  would  give 
me  the  whole  State  of  New  Jersey  !  " 

The  reply  may  serve  to  contrast  English  conservatism  with 
American  enterprise.  Nearly  all  of  the  men  who  have  since 
i860  made  Paterson  the  centre  of  the  silk  industry,  came  there 
from  other  localities,  and  most  of  them  came  "  to  live."  The 
few  who  preceded  that  date  were,  however,  exceptions  to 
one  or  the  other  of  these  generalizations. 

Taken  in  the  order  of  their  starting  in  Paterson,  the  first  of 
the  great  rivals  with  whom  Mr.  Ryle's  establishment  had 
afterwards  to  compete,  started  business  on  a  small  scale  in 
1854,  as  the  firm  of  Hamil  &  Booth.  They  began  as  throw- 
sters, having  been  brought  up  to  the  trade.    At  first  they  had 

8 


114  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

only  twenty  operatives.  This  firm  felt  their  way  slowly  and 
cautiously  to  success,  only  increasing  their  facilities  and  en- 
larging their  operations  as  circumstances  strictly  warranted. 
For  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  they  continued  to  be  exclusively 
throwsters.  We  shall  have  further  occasion  to  speak  of  the 
products  of  their  establishment,  the  Passaic  Silk  Works,  at  a 
later  period.  Stelle  &  Walthall,  in  1856,  were  the  next  to 
invade  the  domain.  L.  R.  Stelle  had  been  the  editor  of  a 
newspaper,  and  was  perhaps  a  convert  to  the  many  arti- 
cles" he  had  read  upon  the  silk  industry.  In  1858,  his  name 
figures  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Silk  Industry  Association  ; 
John  Ryle  was  its  President.  The  Association  was  not  in- 
tended to  carry  on  business ;  its  chief  object  was  simply  to 
hold  meetings  for  the  interchange  of  views.  There  are  few 
records  of  its  activity  until  it  was  reorganized  in  1872.  The 
firms  of  Stelle  &  Walthall  and  L.  R.  Stelle  &  Sons  have  al- 
ways confined  themselves  to  the  business  of  "  throwing  "  silks. 
The  removal  of  this  establishment  to  Sauquoit,  near  Utica, 
N.  Y.,  has  been  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter.  The  next 
of  silk  manufacturers  to  try  the  capacities  of  Paterson,  was 
C.  L.  Bottum,  of  Mansfield,  Conn.  His  stay  was  brief.  A 
chang-e  of  partnership  induced  him,  after  a  short  experience 
of  New  Jersey,  to  return  to  Connecticut.  Meanwhile  John 
Ryle's  business  had  largely  expanded.  He  was  employing 
in  1857-8  from  400  to  500  operatives,  and  his  manufacture 
consumed  2,000  pounds  of  raw  silk  per  week — an  amount  of 
business  at  that  time  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  a  silk 
mill  in  America.  Again,  in  1859-60,  he  attempted  to  produce 
dress  silks ;  but  the  prospect  of  war  checked  this  enterprise, 
since  a  period  of  depression  in  affairs  preceded  the  outbreak 
of  hostilities. 

Certain  important  facts  in  the  history  of  Paterson's  silk  in- 
dustry should  here  be  noted,  (i)  The  weaving  of  dress  silks 
was  not  successful  as  a  business  during  the  whole  period 
prior  to  the  Tariff  Act  of  1861,  though  the  broad  goods  occa- 
sionally made  were  quite  satisfactory  in  appearance,  texture 
and  quality.  (2)  Under  the  low  tariff  there  was  no  competi- 
tion in  silk  manufacture  at  Paterson  for  nearly  twelve  years ; 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA.  II5 

and  when,  under  the  tariff,  competition  did  begin,  it  was  very 
Hmited  in  character  and  extent.  (3)  Under  the  tariff  of  1861, 
as  we  shall  proceed  to  show,  Paterson  became  the  centre  of 
a  great  silk  industry,  in  which  many  prominent  concerns  en- 
gaged, and  large  amounts  of  capital  were  invested.  The 
competition  became  exceedingly  active  and  strenuous.  The 
manufacture  included  a  wide  variety  of  goods,  some  of  which 
had  never  been  made  in  this  country  before  ;  and  the  weaving 
of  broad  goods  and  fancy  silks  was  fairly  established. 

These  facts  are  the  more  remarkable  when  we  consider  the 
circumstances.  Paterson  had  been  favored  from  the  first 
with  abundant  water-power,  proximity  to  a  great  commercial 
port,  and  excellent  facilities  for  transportation.  As  to  the 
first  of  these  elements  of  attractiveness,  it  may  be  admitted 
that  great  power  is  not  required  for  a  silk  mill,  and  that  steam 
is  almost  as  economical  as  water  for  driving  light  machinery. 
But  water  itself,  in  large  quantities,  and  of  fair  purity,  is  ab- 
solutely required  in  the  processes  of  silk  manufacture,  espe- 
cially in  cleansing  the  silk  by  repeated  washings  to  bring  out 
its  natural  lustre.  Paterson  could  from  the  first  supply  pure 
water  abundantly.  More  important  than  anything  else,  how- 
ever, was  cheap  labor.  Without  this,  the  other  advantages 
would  have  been  of  small  account.  Paterson  had  at  an  early 
period  drawn  together  a  laboring  population.  The  men  were 
employed  in  machine-shops  and  on  heavy  work.  Their  wives 
and  children  needed  employment ;  and  although  this  was 
afforded  by  the  cotton  mills,  the  operatives  objected  to  it  as 
being  too  confining  and  hard.  The  silk  mill  afforded  a  wel- 
come relief.  Its  work  called  for  care  and  dexterity  instead  of 
severe  and  protracted  effort ;  and  was  cleanly  and  wholesome. 
The  girls  and  young  women  of  Paterson  thought  it  an  honor, 
or  at  all  events  an  evidence  of  respectability,  to  be  employed 
in  the  silk  mill.  As  a  consequence,  Paterson  offered  that 
greatest  desideratum  of  the  silk-maker,  cheap  labor.  Yet 
under  a  low  tariff,  few  manufacturers  came  thither.  Under 
that  of  1 86 1,  they  not  only  came ;  they  crowded  in.  By  their 
own  competition  they  raised  the  price  of  labor,  and  more- 
over, its  price  was  also  raised  by  the  factitious  values  of  the 


Il6  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

war.  Nevertheless,  they  still  drop  in  (a  few  did  in  1875-6) 
and  settle  at  Paterson ;  and  bringing  with  them  capital  and 
experience,  help  to  keep  its  inhabitants  busy  and  make  it  a 
prosperous  city. 

The  first  of  the  great  drops  before  a  thunder-shower  was 
the  Phoenix  Silk  Manufacturing  Company.  Brief  details  of 
the  career  of  its  President,  B.  B.  Tilt,  have  been  given  on 
previous  pages.  It  may  here  be  mentioned  that  the  Phoenix 
Manufacturing  Company  was,  previous  to  the  war,  a  large 
corporation,  owning  the  Phoenix  Mill,  and  engaged  in  cotton 
manufacture.  The  war  cut  off  the  supply  of  cotton.  Mr. 
Tilt,  after  having  become  a  prominent  stockholder,  re-organ- 
ized the  concern,  and  changed  its  business  to  silk  manufacture. 
The  new  Company  rapidly  rose  to  importance.  Ultimately 
its  Jacquard  weaving  obtained  greater  prominence  than  that 
of  any  other  establishment  in  Paterson ;  the  general  range  of 
its  manufacture  including  fancy  silks,  handkerchiefs,  gentle- 
men's scarfs,  etc.  Of  late,  however,  it  has  been  overtaken  by 
misfortune  ;  and  in  March,  1876,  temporarily  succumbed. 

The  year  1864  was  signalized  by  the  formation  of  the  Dale 
Manufacturing  Company,  and  the  commencement  of  building 
the  Dale  Silk  Mills, — a  vast  structure,  which  cost  a  half  mil- 
lion of  dollars.  Thomas  N.  Dale,  the  President  of  this  Com- 
pany, has  been  closely  identified  with  all  the  later  progressive 
movements  in  Paterson  that  have  for  their  object  the  welfare 
of  the  operatives.  He  has  a  fine  library  in  the  mill,  with 
deadened  walls,  so  that  the  noise  of  the  surrounding  machin- 
ery cannot  penetrate.  Here  too  are  paintings  by  members 
of  his  family,  and  a  fine  mineral  collection,  gathered  by  his 
eldest  son,  T.  Nelson  Dale,  Jr.,  who  now  superintends  the 
practical  details  of  manufacture.  The  senior  Mr.  Dale  is  First 
Vice-President  of  the  Silk  Association  of  America.  There 
has  been  hardly  any  limit  to  the  variety  of  silk  manufacture 
which  Mr.  Dale's  Company  has  undertaken. 

In  1864,  also,  the  firm  of  J.  H.  Booth  &  Co.  began  manu- 
facturing tram  and  organzine,  at  Paterson.  Three  new  con- 
cerns were  estabhshed  there  in  1866;  Dunlop  &  Malcom 
building  a  mill  for  making  machine-twist  and  sewing-silk,  and 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


117 


John  D.  Cutter  hiring  premises  for  the  same  purpose,  over 
the  machine  shops  of  the  Grant  Locomotive  Works.  The 
same  year  also  Mr.  Greppo  started  his  dyeing  estabUshment 
at  Paterson.  It  is  not  intended  to  repeat  here  the  details 
elsewhere  given  in  this  history,  and  hence,  in  many  instances, 
there  can  be  given  nothing  more  than  date  and  name.  It 
should  be  mentioned,  however,  with  regard  to  the  dyeing 
business,  that  Mr.  O'Neal  was  the  first  to  open  a  dye-house 
at  Paterson,  at  which  goods  were  received  on  commission. 
He  had  been  carrying  on  this  business  in  New  York  City, 
and  moved  to  Paterson,  to  meet  the  wants  of  his  largest  cus- 
tomers. Most  of  the  silk  mills,  prior  to  this  date,  performed 
their  dyeing  on  their  own  premises,  and  several  of  them  still 
continue  to. 

The  next  year  (1867)  another  of  the  large  silk  manufac- 
turers entered  upon  the  field  ;  the  firm  of  Dexter,  Lambert  & 
Co.  transferred  their  enterprise  from  Boston  to  Paterson,  and 
built  a  large  mill  to  accommodate  their  business,  which  began 
with  ladies'  dress  trimmings  and  ribbons,  and  has  since  been 
developed  in  all  sorts  of  fancy  silks,  Jacquard  weaving,  hand- 
kerchiefs, etc.  In  the  year  following,  Wm.  Strange  &  Co. 
left  Williamsburg,  N.  Y.,  and  started  a  ribbon  factory  at  Pat- 
erson. They  are  now  running  the  Greppo  Mill  and  the  Velvet 
Mill.  They  have  always  done  their  own  "  throwing."  Rib- 
bons of  all  kinds  (and  of  excellent  quality)  have  from  the  first 
been  their  specialty ;  but  of  late  they  too  have  been  making 
fancy  goods,  silk  handkerchiefs,  etc.  They  employ  700  oper- 
atives. Mr.  Strange  is  Vice-President  of  the  Paterson  Board 
of  Trade,  and  enjoys  deserved  popularity  as  an  active  citizen 
of  Paterson.  In  the  Silk  Association  of  America,  Mr.  Strange 
is  Chairman  of  the  Committees  on  Statistics  and  Revenue 
Laws ;  in  this  capacity  rendering  valuable  service  to  the 
Association  and  to  the  silk  manufacture  in  general. 

Paterson  attracted  Frederick  Baare  in  1871,  from  Scho- 
harie, N.  Y.,  where  he  had  a  very  successful  mill,  weaving  all 
kinds  of  broad  silks,  ribbons  and  galloons.  His  establishment 
at  Paterson  is  the  Baare  Silk  Manufacturing  Company.  His 
personal  earnestness  and  energy  have  already  procured  for 


nS  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

him  a  marked  influence  in  his  new  locahty.  Mr.  Hamil  (of 
the  firm  of  Hamil  &  Booth),  in  the  same  year  (1871),  bought 
another  mill  which  had  previously  been  used  for  making  cot- 
ton goods.  This  is  known  as  the  Hamil  Mill,  and  it  consid- 
erably enlarged  the  firm's  facilities  for  silk  manufacture.  The 
Silk  Industry  Association  of  Paterson,  N.  J.,  was  reorganized 
in  the  following  year,  with  Robert  Hamil,  President,  and  J. 
P.  McKay,  Secretary.  The  other  officers  and  board  have 
been  named  in  a  previous  chapter.  Mr.  McKay  is  a  manu- 
facturer of  dress,  plain  and  fancy  silks.  Benjamin  Salter, 
one  of  the  Managers,  was  at  that  time  in  partnership  with 
John  D.  Cutter,  making  buttonhole  twist.  Pelgram  &  Meyer's 
factory  was  established  at  Paterson  at  this  time.  They  began 
with  ribbon  manufacture,  but  more  recently  advanced  to  broad 
silk  and  Jacquard  weaving,  and  also  do  their  own  throwing." 

A.  Soleliac  &  Sons,  of  New  York  City,  selected  Paterson, 
in  1873,  as  the  best  place  for  establishing  a  ribbon  manufac- 
ture. They  occupy  the  second  floor  and  part  of  the  third  in 
the  Dale  Mill.  Gros-grain  and  colored  dress  silks  have  more 
recently  been  woven  by  this  concern.  Mr.  Soleliac  is  an  im- 
porter of  many  years'  standing ;  has  been  connected  with  silk 
manufacture  in  Lyons,  France ;  conducted  a  ribbon-weaving 
establishment  in  New  York  for  four  years  before  his  removal 
to  Paterson ;  and  is  well  informed  respecting  foreign  goods. 
He  is  a  valuable  member  of  the  Revenue  Laws  Committee  in 
the  Silk  Association  of  America. 

But  this  chapter  is  already  too  long,  and  the  more  recent 
arrivals  in  Paterson  can  scarcely  have  room  for  more  than 
the  mention  of  their  names ;  and  quite  probably  some  may 
unintentionally  be  omitted.  Among  the  larger  recent  estab 
lishments  are  the  braiding  works  and  throwing  mill  of  Louis 
Franke,  where  ladies'  dress  trimmings — very  fine  goods — are 
made.  Morlot  &  Stettheimer  began  as  dyers,  but  are  now 
also  engaged  in  ribbon  weaving.  S.  M.  Meyenberg  makes  a 
specialty  of  hair  nets  ;  Stephen  Lum,  of  ribbons  ;  Grimshaw 
Brothers,  of  millinery  and  tie  silks ;  Joseph  Fletcher,  of  twilled 
silks ;  C.  B.  Auer  &  Co.,  millinery  and  ties ;  the  Day  Manu- 
facturing Co.,  fancy  silks.    The  Manhattan  Loom  Co.,  organ- 


i 


thf:  silk  lxdl'Strv  ix  America. 


119 


ized  by  John  Burns  tS:  Co.  of  New  York,  make  ribbons  and 
fancy  silks;  P.  I.  Bannagan  are  throwsters,  but  they  also 
make  tie  silks  and  handkerchiefs.  J.  Jackson  Scott  and  See 
&  Shean,  with  Morlot  &  Stettheimer  and  Weidmann  &  Greppo 
already  mentioned,  complete  the  list  of  dyers,  there  being 
four  in  all.  A  much  longer  list  of  manufacturers  could  be 
made  by  including  the  numerous  instances  in  and  around 
Paterson,  where  a  so-called  master-weaver  who  has  previously 
been  a  journeyman  weaver,  has  two  or  three  looms  in  his 
house.  Within  the  past  year  the  number  of  this  class  of 
weavers  has  been  largely  increased  by  immigration  from 
France  and  England.    They  bring  their  looms  with  them. 

Noteworthy  changes  in  the  whole  character  of  the  silk  in- 
dustry have  taken  place  since  Paterson  became  its  centre. 
Among  these  are  the  profitable  manufacture  of  broad  goods 
by  firms  after  repeated  trials,  the  earlier  efforts  having  been 
unfortunate;  the  successes  of  John  Ryle  &  Sons  in  1872,  and 
Hamil  &  Booth  in  1873  after  unavailing  efforts  in  1868-70, 
may  be  cited.  Similar  facts  could  probably  be  assumed  with 
correctness  as  to  nearly  all  the  others  who  have  been  men- 
tioned as  manufacturing  dress  goods.  The  increase  of  the 
number  of  firms  engaged  in  weaving  silk  is  partly  owing  to 
the  demands  of  fashion,  and  partly  to  the  circumstance  that 
the  concerns  that  once  confined  themselves  to  the  throwster's 
business,  have  nearly  all  been  obliged  to  begin  weaving  or 
retire  from  silk  manufacture ;  a  result  following  upon  the 
practice  adopted  by  the  weavers  of  doing  their  own  throwing. 
Hamil  &  Booth  offer  a  conspicuous  example  of  a  throwster's 
firm  undertaking  weaving  from  this  cause.  The  last-named 
firm  sell  their  own  goods :  but  many  of  the  manufacturers  of 
Paterson  have  yielded  to  the  persuasion  of  the  foreign  import- 
ing houses  in  New  York,  and  consign  their  goods  for  sale, 
making  the  New  York  houses  their  sole  agents.  Weaving, 
as  distinguished  from  the  other  branches,  is  characteristic  of 
the  industr}^  in  New  Jersey,  as  sewing-silk  and  machine-twist 
are  of  the  manufacture  in  New  England  ;  and  only  two  con- 
cerns,— ^those  of  John  Dunlop  and  John  D.  Cutter — continue 
in  Paterson  to  make  a  specialty  of  sewings  and  twist. 


I20 


THE  SILK  INDUSl'RY  IN  AMERICA. 


The  following  are  the  statistics  of  the  silk  industr}^  in  Pat- 
erson  at  the  close  of  the  year  1875,  as  compiled  from  the 
records  of  the  Silk  Association  of  America  : 

Classes  of  goods  and  manufature  :  Gum  silks,  tram,  organzine,  fringe  silks, 
sewing-silks,  machine-twist,  dyeing,  weaving,  ribbons,  dress  and 
fancy  silks,  scarfs,  handkerchiefs,  veils  and  veiling,  ladies'  dress 
trimmings,  braids  and  bindings,  upholstery  trimmings.  Sec. 

Number  of  firms  and  corporations  engaged  in  the  silk  manu- 
facture.  ---------  32 

Dyeing  establishments,  in  addition  to  private  dye-houses  of 

manufacturers  (this  number  was  reduced  to  4  in  1876),  -  5 
Number  of  operatives,  nearly  8,000 

Proportion  of  female  operatives,        -        _        _        -        -  two-thirds. 
Proportion  of  operatives  under  16  years  of  age,       -        -  one-fourth. 
Amount  of  wages  paid  during  the  year,      _        -        _        .  $2,664,993 
Amount  of  capital  employed  and  invested  in  mills,  machinery, 

and  manufacturing         ------  $5,926,804 

Number  of  throwing-spindles,  ------  74,323 

Number  of  power-looms,      -        --        --        -  730 

Number  of  hand  looms,   -        -        -        -        -        -        -  563 

Number  of  braiding  spindles,        -----  23,445 

Number  of  pounds  of  silk  dyed,        -        -        -        -        -  550,000 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA.  121 

XXL 

Awards  to  Silk  Exhibitors. 

HE  Silk  Manufacture  has,  at  frequent  intervals, 
called  forth  expressions  of  approval  and  awards 
of  merit  to  exhibitors  at  the  more  important 
public  displays  of  American  industry.  The 
following  is  an  incomplete  list  of  these  awards, 
etc.,  at  some  of  the  more  prominent  exhibi- 
tions : 

830:  M.  d'Homergue  exhibited  at  the  Fair  of  the  Franklin  Institute, 
Philadelphia,  two  banners,  each  1  2  feet  long  and  6  feet  wide, 
made  of  Pennsylvania  silk;  and  a  few  other  woven  articles. 

841,  '42  and  '43  :  William  H.  Jones,  of  North  Manchester,  Conn.,  re- 
ceived premiums  and  medals  from  the  American  Institute,  of 
New  York,  and  the  Hartford  County  Agricultural  Fair,  for 
sewing  silk  of  fine  lustre,  wound  on  a  reel  of  his  own  invention, 
from  cocoons  which  he  had  raised.  The  specimen  of  sewing- 
silk  exhibited  in  1842  by  A.  B.  and  W.  H.  Jones,  of  Manches- 
ter, Conn.,  at  the  Fair  of  the  American  Institute,  was  considered 
the  best,  and  received  the  first  premium. 

841  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York : 

John   McRae,  New  York ;   manufactured  silk,  (shawls,  cord  and 

braid) — best ;  silver  medal. 
B.  S.  Yates,  New  York;  silk  handkerchiefs,  silk  for  dresses,  cords 

and  tassels ;  silver  medal. 
Mathias  Price,  Newark,  N.  J.  ;  floss  silk,  cleansed  silk,  and  spun 
silk  hose ;  diploma. 

842:  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York: 

Edmund  Golding,  Mansfield  Centre,  Conn. ;  specimen  of  sewing-silk; 
second  premium. 

Auburn  Spate  Prison;  specimens  of  sewing  silk,  twist,  etc.,  made 

entirely  of  American  silk  ;  worthy  of  notice. 
John  Ryle,  Paterson,  N.  J.  ;  specimens  of  ball  twist,  sewing-silk  and 

floss,  of  good  manufacture;  entitled  to  a  premium. 
William  B.  Frink  ;  specimens  of  sewing-silk,  made  entirely  by  a 

hand-wheel  ;  worthy  of  notice. 
State  Prison,  Mount  Pleasant,  N.  Y. ;  36  yards  black  silk — well 

made;  entitled  to  a  premium. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA, 


John  McRae,  New  York ;  cords,  gimps  and  bindings — brought  to 
great  perfection  ;  silver  medal  previously  awarded ;  diploma. 

Wakefield  Mills,  Germantown,  Penn.  ;  silk  shirts  and  drawers, 
made  of  imported  silk ;  deserving  of  notice. 

Peter  Gruet,  Orange,  N.  J. ;  specimens  of  bonnet  wire — best 
exhibited  ;  deserving  a  premium. 

1843  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York: 

Northampton  Association  of  Education  and  Industry  ;  raw  silk ; 
diploma.    Sewing-silk — second  best ;  diploma. 

William  Hayden,  New  York ;  silk  dyeing ;  diploma. 

New  England  Silk  Company,  Dedham,  Mass. ;  black  and  colored 
sewing-silk — best ;  silver  medal. 

Haskell  &  Hayden,  Windsor  Locks,  Conn.  ;  spool  sewing-silk,  col- 
ored— superior;  a  gold  medal  previously  awarded;  diploma. 

John  W.  Gill,  Mount  Pleasant,  O. ;  silk  goods — the  greatest  va- 
riety ;  gold  medal. 

Timothy  Smith,  Amherst,  Mass.  ;  a  piece  of  plain,  drab  silk — **  the 
best  piece  of  silk  in  the  fair" ;  silver  medal. 

Murray  &  Ryle,  Paterson,  N.  J. ;  ladies'  and  gentlemen's  cravats 
and  twilled  silk  handkerchiefs ;  gold  medal. 

John  Denmead,  New  York ;  silk  gimps,  wire  and  coat  bindings ; 
silver  medal. 

Mrs.  Mary  Beach,  Newark,  N.  J.  ;  a  pair  of  white  silk  hose  ;  dip- 
loma. 

1845  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York  : 

John  W.  Gill,  Mount  Pleasant,  Ohio  ;   silk  goods — best ;  $50  and 

the  Van  Schaick  medal.* 
William  Hayden,  New  York  ;  sewing-silk — best ;  superior  dyeing ; 
silver  medal. 

Miss  Gertrude  Rapp,  Economy,  Penn.  ;  white  silk  pocket  handker- 
chiefs— best;  silver  medal. 

Jeffrey  Hutchinson,  Riverhead,  L.  I. ;  sewing-silk,  of  very  pure 
color ;  second  premium. 

A.  L.  Jones,  Manchester,  Conn.;  sewing-silks;  diploma. 

Miss  Ann  Lecraft  Manny,  Beaufort,  N.  C. ;  heavy  sewing-silk ; 
diploma. 

S.  &  S.  Halstead,  New  York ;  silk  coat-cord — superior ;  diploma. 


*Myndert  Van  Schaick,  a  merchant  of  New  York,  on  the  1 6th  of  July,  1844, 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  American  Institute,  in  which  he  dwelt  upon  the  advantages  to  be 
derived  from  the  silk  industry,  and  in  order  to  promote  it,  agreed  to  give  the  Institute  $100 
a  year  for  ten  years,  to  be  distributed  in  annual  premiums  for  the  best  piece  of  silk  stuff 
manufactured  of  native  silk  in  each  year. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


1846  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York  : 

Cjmbier  Deschaux,  New  York  ;  silk  dyeing — best ;  silver  medal. 
WiLLLiAM  Hayden,  New  York,  silk  dyeing — second  best ;  diploma. 
Mrs.  Caroline  Swartz,  New  York;  silk  dyeing;  diploma. 
Murray  &  Rylf,  Paterson,  N.  J. ;  colored  sewing-silk  and  silk  twist — 

best,  and  silk  handkerchiefs ;  gold  medal. 
Valentine  &  Sowerby,  Northampton,   Mass. ;  sewing-silk — second 

best ;  silver  medal. 
Haskell  &  Hayden,  Windsor  Locks,  Conn. ;  spool  silk  ;  silver  medal. 
John  Fox,  Wheeling,  Va.  ;  manufactured  silk;  silver  medal. 
John  W.  Gill,  Wheeling,  Va.  ;  black  satin,  black  striped  velvet  and 

grey  lavender  twilled  handkerchiefs ;  silver  medal. 
Peter  Gruet,  Orange,  N.  J. ;  silk  wire — best;  silver  medal. 
J.  S.  Pierce,  Burlington,  Vt. ;  silk  vest  patterns ;  diploma. 
Hartford  Knitting  Co.,  New  York ;  silk  knit  shirts ;  silver  medal. 
G.  W.  Sharp,  New  York;  printing  on  silk  handkerchiefs;  diploma. 

1847  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York  : 

Mrs.  John  S.  Pierce,  Burlington,  Vt.  ;  piece  of  silk  for  dresses,  (60 
yards  in  length,) — best;  Van  Schaick  premium,  $50,  and 
bronze  medal. 

J.  W.  Gill,  Wheeling,  Va. ;  piece  of  black  silk;  Van  Schaick  pre- 
mium, $30,  and  a  bronze  medal. 

John  Fox,  Sen.,  Wheeling,  Va.  ;  silk  velvet ;  Van  Schaick  premium, 
$20,  and  bronze  medal. 

James  Milward,  New  York  ;  satin — best;  silver  medal. 

Charles  Banfield,  Wheeling,  Va.  ;  satin — second  best ;  diploma. 

Court  &  Deschaux,  New  York  ;  silk  dyeing — best ;  silver  medal. 

W.  Fisher,  Heyden  &  Co.,  New  York;  silk  dyeing — second  best; 
diploma. 

Northampton  Silk  Co.  ;  sewing-silk — best;  Van  Schaick  premium, 

$10,  and  bronze  medal. 
Nathan    Rixford,   Mansfield,   Conn.  ;    sewing-silk — second    best ; 

silver  medal. 

1848  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York  : 

S.  O.  LooMis,  Windsor,  Conn.  ;  sewing-silk — best ;  silver  medal. 
Atwood    &    Russ,   Mansfield,   Conn.  ;    sewing-silk — second  best ; 
diploma. 

Thomas  Ryle,  Paterson,  N.  J.  ;  sewing-silk  on  spools ;  diploma. 
New  York  Dyeing  and  Printing  Establishment,  New  York  ;  silk 

twist — best;  silver  medal. 
Court  &  Deschaux,  New  York ;  silk  dyeing — best ;  silver  medal. 
Miss  Harriet  Summy,  Lancaster  County,  Penn.  ;  sewing-silk,  superior; 

diploma. 


124 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


James  Millward,  New  York ;  piece  of  satin ;  (silver  medal  having 
before  been  awarded,)  diploma. 
1849  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York  : 

J.  W.  Gill,  Wheeling,  Va.  ;  piece  of  silk,  27  inches  wide  and  60 
yards  in  length — best ;  Van  Schaick  premium,  $60,  and  bronze 
medal. 

J.  W.  Gill,  Wheeling,  Va. ;  silk  for  handkerchiefs,  25  yards  in  length 
— best;  Van  Schaick  premium,  I20,  and  bronze  medal. 

James  Millward,  New  York ;  pieces  of  satin  ;  silver  medal. 

John  Fox,  Sen.,  Wheeling,  Va. ;  plaid  silk  velvets — best ;  Van 
Schaick  premium,  $10,  and  bronze  medal. 

Julius  Ho VEY,  Mansfield,  Conn.;  sewing-silk,  12  lbs. — best;  silver 
medal. 

Turner  &  Gurley,  New  York,  sewing-silk — superior ;  silver  medal. 
Cleveland  &  Co.,  New  York,  colored  and  spooled  silk;  diploma. 
C.  B.  Hatch,  New  York;  oiled  silk;  diploma. 

C.  Court,  New  York ;  silk  dyeing  (silver  medal  having  been  before 

awarded) ;  diploma. 
Herman  Schwietering,  New  York;  silk  button  coverings ;  diploma. 
1850:  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York: 

Wilmer,  Cannell  &  Co.,  Philadelphia ;  printed  silk  handerchiefs — 

best ;  silver  medal. 
Crabtree  &  Wilkinson,  Staten  Island ;  printed  silk  handkerchiefs — 

second  best ;  diploma. 
R.  Rennie,  Lodi,  N.  J. ;  printed  foulard  silk;  silver  medal. 
James  Millward,  New  York;  silk  shawls;  gold  medal. 

E.  R.  Gurley,  Mansfield,  Conn. ;  silk  twist ;  silver  medal. 
Cheney  Bros.,  Manchester,  Conn. ;  E.  H.  Arnold,  Agent,  34  Beaver 

Street,  N.  Y.  ;  sewing-silk ;  diploma. 
Duncan  McFarlane,  New  York ;  14  pieces  of  silk  ribbon;  Van 
Schaick  premium,  810,  and  bronze  medal. 

1851  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York : 

F.  S.  DuMONT,  Paterson,  N.  J,;  silk  plush — best;  silver  medal. 
Haskell  &  Hayden,  Windsor  Locks,  Conn. ;  sewing-silk — best ; 

silver  medal. 

T.  Euler,  59  Robinson  Street,  New  York;  specimen  of  watering  on 
silk ;  silver  medal. 

1852  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York  : 

John  Ryle,  Paterson,  N.  J.  ;  sewing-silk—best;  silver  medal. 
John  Ryle,  Paterson,  N.  J. ;  printed  silk  handkerchiefs — best ;  silver 
medal. 

Shepherd  &  Howe,  New  York;  printed  silk  handkerchief,  second 
premium ;  diploma. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


125 


Newport  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.,  Newport,  Ky. ;  superior  silk 
vestings ;  silver  medal. 

852  :  Award  by  Franklin  Institute,  Philadelphia  : 

Wm.  H.  Horstmann  &  Sons,  Philadelphia ;  fancy  taffeta  bonnet 
ribbons;  gold  medal,  highest  reward  of  Institute,  in  considera- 
tion of  extraordinary  merit. 

853  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York  : 

J.  Newstaedter,  New  York ;  silk  brocade ;  gold  medal. 
E.  J.  Jenkins,  New  York;  printing  on  pongee  handkerchiefs;  dip- 
loma. 

855  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York: 

C.  W.  Crosley,  New  York  ;  upholstery,  cords  and  tassels ;  silver 
medal. 

Newport  Silk  Factory,  Newport,  Ky.  ;  silk  fabrics ;  silver  medal. 
Bay  State  Mills,  Lawrence,  Mass. ;  richly  embroidered  silk  shawls ; 
silver  medal. 

M.  Heminway  &  Son,  Watertown,  Conn.  ;  sewing-silk  on  spool, 

and  embroidery  silk — best;  silver  medal. 
Excelsior  Silk  and  Twist  Co.,  Mansfield  Centre,  Conn.  ;  silk  twist 

for  machine  use,  and  colored  sewing-silk — best  ;  silver  medal. 

856  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute,  of  New  York: 

M.  Heminway  &  Son,  Watertown,  Conn.  ;  best  sewing-silk — (a 
silver  medal  having  been  before  awarded) ;  diploma. 

Cleveland  &  Co.,  New  York;  sewing-silk — second  best;  bronze 
medal. 

857  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute,  of  New  York: 

M.  Heminway  &  Sons,  Watertown,  Conn.  ;  sewing-silks,  tailors' 
twist  and  sewings  on  spools,  sewing  machine  twist,  embroidery, 
and  knitting  silk  ;  large  silver  medal. 

863  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute,  of  New  York  : 

M.  Heminway  &  Sons,  Watertown,  Conn. ;   sewing-silk  (a  silver 

medal  having  been  before  awarded)  ;  diploma. 
John  Turner,  Norwich,  Conn.  ;   fishing  lines,  satin  finish,  fancy 

twines  and  machine-made  picture  cord  ;  bronze  medal. 

867  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute,  of  New  York: 

Cheney  Bros.,  Hartford,  Conn.  ;  silk  goods — best ;  medal  and  dip- 
loma. 

Duncan  Macfarlane,  New  York  ;  silk  shawl — second  best ;  medal 
and  diploma. 

J.  H.  &  G.  Holland,  Willimantic,  Conn.  ;  sewing-machine  twist — 
third  best ;  medal  and  diploma 


126 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


1869:  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York: 

NoNOTucK  Silk  Co.,  Florence,  Mass.  ;  bleached  and  colored  sewing- 
silk,  machine  twist  and  sewing  in  the  gum — best  ;  medal  and 
diploma. 

Excelsior  Manufacturing  Company,  New  York  ;  sewing-silk  in  the 
skein  and  on  spools,  and  machine-twist — best;  medal  and  di- 
ploma. 

P.  G.  GivERNAUD,  Hoboken,  N.  J.  ;  plain  black  and  colored  silk 

dress  goods — best;  medal  and  diploma. 
Cheney  Bros.,  Hartford,  Conn. ;  fancy  striped  silk,  and  silk  and 

worsted  poplins — best ;  medal  and  diploma. 
Dale  Manufacturing  Co.,  Paterson,  N.  J.  ;  silk  serges,  scarfs  and 

braids — best ;  medal  and  diploma. 
Wm.  H.  Horstmann  &  Sons,  Philadelphia ;  silk,  silk  and  cotton 

trimmings,  fringes,  tassels  and  navy  belts — best ;    medal  and 

diploma. 

Hamil  &  Booth,  Paterson,  N.  J.  ;  organzines  twisted  in  the  gum. 
machine-twist  and  embroidery  silks — best ;  medal  and  diploma. 

Oneida  Communty,  Oneida,  N.  Y.  ;  ribbons  and  machine-twist — 
best ;  medal  and  diploma. 

George  Comings,  New  York  ;  mohair  and  silk  tassels  and  silk  trim- 
mings— best  ;  medal  and  diploma. 

Bernstein  &  Mack,  New  York ;  silk  chenille — second  best  ;  medal 
and  diploma. 

James  S.  Shapter,  Paterson,  N.  J.  ;  silk  serges,  black  satin,  cotton 
filling,  dress  silks,  reps,  etc. — second  best ;  medal  and  diploma. 

Frederick  Baare,  Schoharie,  N.  Y.  ;  silk  and  wool  poplins  --second 
best ;  medal  and  diploma. 

W.  G.  Watson  &  Son,  Paterson,  N.  J.  ;  black  and  colored  sewing- 
silk,  machine-twist,  etc.,  canton  in  gum,  black  and  colored  — 
second  best ;  medal  and  diploma. 

Werner  Itschner  &  Co.,  Philadelphia;  fancy  striped  silk  ribbons 
and  black  silk  cravat — second  best ;  medal  and  diploma. 

Cantrell  &  Chapin,  Cresskill,  N.  J.  ;  machine  twist — second  best ; 
medal  and  diploma. 

Nottingham  Manufacturing  Company,  A.  G.  Jennings,  Agent,  New 
York;  silk  webbings,  crochet,  webbing,  silks,  hand  nets,  silk 
lace  and  silk  buttons — second  best ;  medal  and  diploma. 

O.  W.  Crosby,  New  York;  silk  fringes— second  best;  medal  and 
diploma. 

1870  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York  : 

Heminway  &  Sons'  Silk  Co.,  New  York ;  sewing-silk  and  twist ; 
first  premium. 


TpE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


12/ 


Cheney  Brothers,  Hartford,  Conn.  ;  silk  goods ;  first  premium. 
Bachmann  Bros.,  New  York;  silk  dyers'  goods;  first  premium. 
Nottingham  Lace  Works,  New  York;  silk  lace  hair  nets  ;  honorable 
mention. 

870  and  1872  :  Awards  of  the  Cincinnati  Industrial  Exposition  : 

Belding  Brothers  &  Co.,  Rockville,  Conn.;  sewing-silks;  prize 
medal. 

872,  '74  and  '75  :  St.  Louis  Exhibition  : 

Belding  Brothers  &  Co.  ;  same  as  above. 

873  :  Awards  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York  : 

Singer  Manufacturing  Co.,  New  York  ;  machine  twist ;  diploma. 
Brainerd,  Armstrong  &  Co.,  New  York  ;  machine  twist  and  sewing- 
silk  ;  diploma. 

John  N.  Stearns  &  Co.,  New  York  ;  silks  ;  bronze  medal. 

NoNOTUCK  Silk  Co.,  Florence,  Mass.  ;  machine  twist  and  sewing- 
silk  ;  bronze  medal. 

Phcenix  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.,  Paterson,  N.  J.;  fancy  silk  goods — 
best,  and  ribbons  ;  silver  medal. 

Cheney  Brothers,  Hartford,  Conn.;  silk — best  samples;  silver  medal. 

A.  G.  Jennings,  New  York ;  lace  and  silk  goods — best;  silver  medal. 

Joseph  Neumann,  San  Francisco,  Cal.  ;  silk  cocoons,  raw  silk  and 
flags — best ;  silver  medal. 

Oneida  Community,  Oneida,  N.  Y.  ;  machine  for  measuring  and 
testing  spool  silk — best ;  silver  medal. 

.874:  Maryland  Institute  for  the  Promotion  of  the  Mechanic  Arts: 

Belding  Brothers  &  Co.,  Rockville,  Conn.;  sewing-machine  twist; 
prize  medal. 

1874:  Franklin  Institute  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
Belding  Brothers  &  Co.  ;  same  as  above. 

AuB,  Hackenburg  &  Co.,  Philadelphia  ;  machinc-twiat  and  sewing- 
silk  ;  prize  medal. 


128 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


XXII. 


The  Present  and  the  Future. 


HE  Centennial  year  of  our  national  existence  finds 
us,  even  in  a  time  of  financial  depression,  man- 
ufacturing not  less  than  one-half  of  all  the  silk 
goods  used  in  our  country,  and  furnishing  them 
to  our  people  at  a  price,  if  the  quality  of  the 
goods  be  taken  into  consideration,  below  that 
which  ruled  when  the  silks  of  England,  France 
and  Italy  were  admitted  into  our  ports  nearly 
free  of  duty.  The  processes  already  invented,  and  in  prac- 
tice, enable  us  to  produce  better  fabrics  than  have  been  offer- 
ed here  before.  In  this  case  at  least,  the  imposition  of  the  duty 
of  60  per  cent,  has  not  enhanced  the  price  of  goods.  Nor, 
on  the  other  hand,  has  the  high  rate  of  duty  so  far  dimin- 
ished importation  as  to  reduce  the  Government's  revenue. 
The  duties  collected  on  manufactured  silk  goods  in  the  whole 
period  from  1843  to  1875,  amounted  to  over  $275,000,000 ;  but 
$150,000,000 — more  than  half  of  it — was  paid  within  the  last 
ten  years.  The  fact  becomes  even  plainer  if  the  average  an- 
nual revenue  under  different  tariffs  be  considered.  Thus  from 
1843  to  1856,  with  a  duty  of  30  and  25  per  cent.,  the  average 
annual  revenue  was  about  five  million  dollars  ;  from  1857  to 
1864,  with  duties  ranging  from  24  to  40  per  cent.,  the  average 
was  about  five  and  a  half  millions;  but  from  1865  to  1875, 
with  a  duty  of  60  and  50  per  cent.,  the  average  revenue 
rose  to  fourteen  and  a  half  million  dollars.  Meanwhile,  vig- 
orous competition,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  has  greatly 
cheapened  domestic  production,  and  substituted  in  many  of 
the  processes  machine-labor  for  hand-labor  ;  the  result  being 
a  great  improvement  in  American  goods  as  well  as  a  marked 
reduction  of  their  prices. 

This  great  advantage  has  been  gained  also,  in  the  very  field 
'   where  Great  Britain  has  almost  completely  failed.    With  an 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


129 


established  manufacture  of  great  extent,  reaching  back  nearly 
two  centuries  ;  with  highly  skilled  workmen,  abundant  capital, 
and  a  nearer  market  than  we  have  in  which  to  purchase  her 
raw  material,  (as  from  climatic  causes  the  silk  culture  had  been 
a  failure,)  she  was  obliged  to  abandon  her  manufactures  of 
silk,  except  in  the  production  of  spun  silk,  hosiery,  silk  laces, 
and  some  descriptions  of  ribbons,  as  soon  as  the  silks  of  France 
and  Italy  were  admitted  duty  free.  Twenty  years  ago,  our 
supply  of  dress  silks,  ribbons,  silk  laces,  shawls,  &c.,  was  drawn 
in  about  equal  quantities  from  England  and  France.  To-day, 
beyond  a  few  fancy  goods  (like  silk  lace,  hosiery,  ribbons,  and 
mixed  goods  of  silk  and  linen,  silk  and  cotton,  and  silk  and 
wool,  mainly  of  spun  silk),  w^e  buy  no  silks  from  Great  Britain. 
The  duties  on  manufactured  silks  which  were  abrogated  by  the 
Cobden  treaty,  were  not  very  heavy,  few  of  them  exceeding 
thirty  per  cent.;  but  they  were  sufficient  to  prevent  the  ruinous 
competition  which  resulted  in  the  substantial  overthrow  of  the 
business  throughout  Great  Britain,  the  closing  of  the  mills 
at  Macclesfield  and  Manchester,  and  the  beggaring  of  the 
owners  and  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  skilled  and 
worthy  workmen.  To-day  the  spindles  of  some  of  these 
mills,  purchased  at  a  mere  nominal  price,  are  running  in 
American  silk  mills. 

This  great  failure  of  the  silk  manufacture  in  Great  Britain 
should  teach  a  lesson,  perhaps  more  than  one.  Our  manufac- 
turers are  working  under  a  tariff  of  60  per  centum  ad  valorem 
on  most  silk  goods.  This  duty  does  not  enhance  the  price  of 
silk  goods ;  for,  as  we  have  already  said,  dress  silks,  ribbons 
and  sewing-silks  were  never  so  low  as  now,  from  the  strong 
competition  at  home  ;  but  it  does  keep  off  to  some  extent,  the 
crushing  rivalry  of  foreign  manufacturers,  who  would  be 
willing  to  make  great  sacrifices  for  a  time  in  order  to  break 
down  American  manufacturers,  in  the  hope  of  gaining  ere 
long  a  complete  monopoly  of  the  trade.  If  the  sudden  onset 
upon  British  manufacturers  ruined  them,  with  their  large  cap- 
ital and  established  trade,  how  should  our  manufacturers  fare 
if  similarly  exposed — who  have  not  yet  arrived  at  adolescence 
in  this  manufacture ;  whose  capital  is  comparatively  limited, 
Q 


130  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AiMERlCA. 

and  who  labor  under  the  disadvantage  of  having-  to  procure 
their  raw  material  from  other  countries,  and  of  paying  higher 
wages  than  are  paid  in  England  or  on  the  Continent  ? 

There  is,  happily,  no  immediate  danger  of  any  seri- 
ous effort  to  reduce  the  duties  on  manufactured  silks.  It 
is  fortunate  that  silk  goods  are  a  luxury ;  a  luxury  which 
will  better  bear  a  portion  of  the  burden  of  taxation  when  a 
country  finds  a  large  revenue  a  necessity,  than  the  necessaries 
of  life ;  so  that  while  our  government  has  so  much  interest 
to  pay  on  its  bonds,  the  duty  on  silks,  which  furnishes  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  revenue,  is  not  likely  to  be  diminished 
seriously.  But  it  is  needful  to  prepare  steadily  and  skillfully 
for  the  changes  in  the  tariff  that  may  be  expected,  when  the 
reduction  of  the  national  debt  shall  diminish  the  amount  of 
revenue  required. 

Every  improvement  in  macninery,  or  in  processes  of  manu- 
facture, which  will  facilitate  the  production  of  better  goods, 
or  of  the  same  qualities  at  less  cost  (for  we  believe  it  is  pretty 
generally  admitted  that  our  goods  are  now,  in  many  depart- 
ments of  manufacture,  superior  to  those  imported),  should  be 
encouraged  and  adopted.  All  methods  of  reeling  or  throw- 
ing silk,  which  accomplish  by  automatic  machinery  what  has 
hitherto  been  accomplished  by  hand-labor,  should  be  studied, 
and  if  found  promising  in  good  results,  should  at  once  be 
tested  in  actual  operation.  There  is  yet  room  for  great  im- 
provement in  the  weaving  of  plain  goods,  and  some  of  the 
new  looms  recently  brought  forward,  when  perfected  may  be 
found  to  be  a  great  advance  on  those  now  generally  in  use. 

Hitherto  the  outlook  has  not  been  favorable  for  the  pro- 
duction of  the  best  grades  of  heavy  dress  silks ;  the  stock 
has  been  too  costly,  the  labor  too  expensive,  and  the  weav- 
ing too  sloAV.  But  a  review  of  what  has  been  already 
achieved,  may  give  new  courage  for  the  future.  By  some 
process,  perhaps  even  now  discovered,  the  cost  of  the  stock 
may  be  reduced ;  the  labor  of  a  rapid  automatic  power- 
loom,  no  whit  more  wonderful  than  the  improved  Jacquard, 
may  be  substituted  for  the  long  hours  of  toil  which  the 
most  skillful  weavers  of  Lyons  now  expend  upon  the  best 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


grades  of  silks.  Our  manufacturers  have  achieved  a  great 
and  wonderful  success  in  their  dress  silks,  made  wholly 
or  in  part  from  spun  silk.  It  is  but  one  step  further  to  a 
greater  triumph,  in  competing  with  the  best  products  of  the 
Lyons  looms.  As  yet,  too,  the  higher  grades  of  velvets,  es- 
pecially in  broad  goods,  have  not  been  made  here  to  any 
great  extent. 

There  is  no  immediate  prospect  of  a  great  or  speedy  revival 
of  silk  culture  ;  but  in  each  State  where  the  climate  and  cir- 
cumstances are  favorable  to  the  rearing  of  silk-worms,  a  fila- 
ture, conducted  by  skilled  reelers  and  moved  by  steam  or 
water-power,  which  should  buy  all  good  cocoons  offered, 
might  be  started  to  advantage.  These  filatures  would  grad- 
ually serve  to  renew  the  interest  in  silk  culture,  and  pro- 
vide for  its  eventual  increase.  They  would  not  prove  directly 
profitable,  but  they  might  supply  the  lack  of  silk  in  bad  years, 
and  would  help  our  manufacturers  in  maintaining  their  posi- 
tion, in  spite  of  all  assaults. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  points  in  which  there 
is  encouragement  to  go  forward  and  aspire  to  a  yet  higher 
position  in  the  manufacture.  Our  visions  of  the  coming 
time  are  not  so  rose-colored  as  those  of  our  fathers  in 
1835-40.  No  one  expects  to  see  in  the  present  generation, 
every  citizen  of  the  great  Republic  sitting  under  the  shade  of 
his  own  multicaulis  trees,  or  gathering  the  leaves  with  utmost 
diligence,  to  supply  the  ravenous  appetites  of  the  million  of 
worms  in  his  own  cocoonery ;  or  busying  himself  with  the 
vain  endeavor  to  make  all  his  cocoons — peanut,  sulphur,  mam- 
moth and  white — reel  alike.  Nor  does  any  one  believe,  that 
in  our  time,  every  farmer  will  go  to  his  work  in  silk  attire,  or 
that  every  milk-maid  will  attend  to  her  duties,  in  a  brocaded 
silk  with  a  trail  two  yards  in  length. 

But  there  is  room  to  hope  that,  before  the  dawn  of  the  twen- 
tieth century,  we  shall  be  exporting  instead  of  importing  silk 
goods  ;  that  the  moderate-priced  but  durable  spun  silks  will 
claim  their  place  as  the  most  economical  of  dresses  for  our 
American  womc  1  while  engaged  in  their  every-day  duties ;  and 
that  the  display  of  laces,  ribbons,  silks  and  velvets,  greeting 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


the  eye  of  the  visitor  to  the  Grand  Exposition  which  in  this 
country  shall  welcome  the  beginning  of  a  new  century  of  the 
Christian  Era,  will  greatly  surpass  the  products  of  European 
looms. 

The  reader  of  this  history  can  scarcely  fail  to  notice  the 
general  similarity  of  the  experiences  that  have  been  narrated. 
As  the  alternating  periods  of  adversity  and  prosperity  sweep 
with  storm  or  sunshine  across  the  whole  field  of  silk  industry, 
the  story  of  one  individual  becomes  the  history  of  all.  Bound 
thus  together  by  community  of  experience  as  well  as  of  in- 
terest, the  silk  manufacturers  of  America  also  share  a  common 
hope  that  is  the  basis  of  all  their  endeavors — the  hope  that 
the  products  of  their  textile  art  may  meet  the  ordinary  needs 
as  well  as  the  highest  tastes  of  their  countrymen  and  country- 
women. 


APPENDIX. 


SILK  DYEING. 

For  many  reasons  it  may  appear  that  a  brief  notice  of  the  progress  made 
in  the  art  of  dyeing  silk  in  America,  should  have  constituted  one  of  the 
chapters  of  the  foregoing  history.  It  has  been  found,  however,  most  con- 
venient in  the  present  edition,  to  present  the  facts  in  an  appendix  ;  more 
especially  as  they  include  the  mention  of  several  enterprises  that  have  been 
already  described. 

The  art  of  dyeing  silk,  as  now  practiced,  requires  more  actual  skill  and 
knowledge  of  applied  chemistry  than  the  dyeing  of  cotton  or  woolen  goods. 
The  secrets  of  the  art  are  more  carefully  guarded  in  Europe  than  in 
America;  but  here  as  well  as  there  they  have  been  handed  down  in  fam- 
ilies or  firms  as  a  heritage  of  value.  The  progress  of  modern  science  has 
to  some  extent  interfered  with  this  exclusiveness,  by  introducing  simulta- 
neously, new  methods  and  new  dyes.  The  pathways  which  are  opened 
by  science,  sooner  or  later  become  free  to  all  who  may  choose  to  enter. 

During  the  period  when,  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States,  the  nur- 
ture and  care  of  the  silk-worm,  and  the  production  of  silk,  constituted  a 
household  industry,  the  dyeing  of  tlie  silk  thus  obtained,  was  embraced 
among  the  processes  carried  on  in  the  household.  A  good  wife  was  ex- 
pected in  a  general  way  to  understand  something  of  the  dyer's  art ;  its 
application  to  silk  yarns  presented  few  new  difficulties.  The  same  kinds 
of  dyes  and  dyestuffs  were  used  that  had  given  tint  to  homespun  garments 
or  to  half  worn  dresses  a  new  lease  of  service.  The  chief  dyes  were 
the  yellow  and  red  oak,  chestnut,  butternut,  logwood,  Brazil  wood,  red- 
wood, nutgalls,  madder,  indigo,  annatto,  and  sometimes,  though  rarely, 
small  quantities  of  cochineal.  The  mordants  most  in  use  were  alum,  cop- 
peras (sulphate  of  iron),  bluestone  (sulphate  of  copper),  and  occasionally, 
muriate  of  tin.  Recipes  for  dyeing  make  a  separate  department  in  the 
volumes  of  that  period  which  describe  the  household  arts ;  and  appear  also 
in  the  treatises  on  silk  culture,  such  as  the  report  of  Secretary  Rush,  the 
essays  of  Dr.  Pascalis  and  J.  D'Homergue,  and  the  manuals  of  Cobb, 
Kenrick,  Vernon,  Comstock,  and  Smith. 

In  Mansfield,  Conn.,  between  1829  and  1838,  a  woman  who  had  dc- 


I 


134 


APPENDIX. 


veloped  peculiar  skill  in  dyeing,  monopolized  the  business  furnished  by  the 
silk  manufacturers  in  the  neighborhood.  The  chief  complaint  against 
American  sewing-silk  was  that  its  dye  was  inferior  to  the  Italian  ;  and  a 
prejudice  in  favor  of  the  foreign  sewing-silk,  based  chiefly  on  supposed  su- 
periority of  color,  survived  long  after  the  American  silks  surpassed  all  others 
in  lustre,  brilliance  and  permanence  of  hue,  as  they  unquestionably  did  in 
strength  of  material.  The  prejudice  has  not  wholly  died  out  at  the  pre- 
sent day,  being  yet  unjustly  applied  to  some  descriptions  of  dress  goods, 
though  long  ago  at  an  end  in  respect  to  sewing-silk. 

When,  in  August,  1838,  Edward  Vallentine  and  Lewis  Leigh  came  to 
this  country  and  started  the  business  of  silk  dyeing,  at  GurleyviDe,  Conn., 
they  had  both  these  obstacles  to  meet  :  a  woman  had  the  local  trade,  and 
a  high  reputation  as  a  dyer ;  and  at  best  it  was  not  popularly  believed  that 
American  sewing-silk  could  be  the  equal,  especially  in  color,  of  the  Italian. 
With  foreign  black  sewing-silks,  the  contest  at  that  period  seemed  almost 
hopeless ;  but  in  the  lighter  colors  the  field  was  more  promising.  Mr. 
Vallentine  brought  with  him  his  own  experience  as  a  silk  dyer  at  Spital- 
fields,  England,  where  he  had  succeeded  to  the  business  of  his  father,  a 
Huguenot,  descended  from  a  family  exiled  by  the  persecutions  which  fol- 
lowed the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  The  younger  Vallentine 
well  understood  his  trade  and  was  ambitious  in  the  use  of  brilliant  colors ; 
he  was  also  remarkably  successful  in  making  a  permanent  black  dye.  These 
efforts  were  ably  seconded  by  Mr.  Leigh  ;  he  is  living  at  the  present  day, 
and  is  still  spoken  of  as  a  master  of  the  craft."  Northampton,  in  1839, 
under  the  prodigal  management  of  Samuel  Whitmarsh,  seemed  to  be  fast 
becoming  the  focus  of  the  silk  industry,  and  thither  Mr.  Vallentine  removed. 
The  products  of  the  mills  at  Florence  and  at  South  Manchester  were  sent 
to  his  dye-house;  and  in  1844  he  was  joined  by  Wm.  Skinner,  who  had 
been  a  dyer  in  England.  The  amount  of  dyeing  required  about  this 
period  by  the  Nonotuck  Silk  Co.,  was  possibly  50  pounds  of  silk  per 
week  ;  by  Cheney  Brothers,  perhaps  twice  that  quantity.  Each  of  these 
concerns  at  last  resolved  to  do  its  own  dyeing.  The  Nonotuck  Silk 
Co.  bargained  with  Mr.  Vallentine  to  have  its  own  dyer,  Mr.  Atkins, 
taught  the  art  ;  applying  the  threat,  in  case  of  refusal,  of  bringing  out 
from  England  another  dyer  to  supplant  Mr.  Vallentine.  Ward  Cheney 
followed  up  this  entering  wedge,  and  himself  spent  some  months  in  North- 
ampton, acquiring  '*  all  the  secrets  of  the  art"  from  Mr.  Vallentine  for 
the  sum  of  three  hundred  dollars.  In  Mr.  Cheney's  case  Mr.  Vallentine 
afterwards  occasionally  boasted  that  he  kept  some  of  his  knowledge  in  re- 
serve ;  but  at  all  events,  the  Cheney  Brothers  never  appeared  conscious  of 
the  deficiency.  The  subsequent  withdrawal  of  these  two  largest  custom- 
ers, probably  brought  about  Mr.  Vallentine's  failure  in  business  in  1848. 
He  died  in  1851.     Several  of  these  incidents  concerning  Messrs.  Vallentine 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Sc  Leigh  are  among  the  valuable  contributions  to  the  early  history  of  the 
silk  industry  in  Connecticut,  which  first  appeared  in  the  pamphlet  of  A. 
T.  Lilly,  referred  to  in  previous  pages. 

William  Skinner,  as  has  been  elsewhere  mentioned,  began  manufacturing 
at  Northampton,  at  the  date  of  Mr.  Vallentine's  failure  in  1848.  The 
relics  of  the  dyeing  business  at  that  time  fell  into  Mr.  Skinner's  hands ; 
he  prolonged  it  for  six  years  in  a  dye-house  adjoining  the  silk  mill  built 
by  Capt.  J.  Conant,  between  Northampton  and  Florence.  The  removal 
of  Mr.  Skinner  to  the  vicinity  of  Haydensville  in  1854,  closes  his  record 
of  business  as  a  dyer  of  silks  on  commission. 

The  larger  manufacturing  concerns  have,  in  general,  found  it  to  their 
interest  to  carry  on  their  dyeing  within  their  own  walls ;  the  smaller  ones, 
in  the  majority  of  instances,  send  their  goods  to  the  larger  ones  to  be 
dyed.  But,  where  a  number  of  small  and  large  concerns  have  congre- 
gated, as,  for  instance,  at  Paterson,  N.  J.,  the  opportunity  for  making  a 
separate  business  of  the  dyeing  of  silks  on  commission,  has  been  again 
developed.  Its  beginnings  in  Paterson  have  been  sketched  already  in  this 
history,  and  the  names  of  the  four  dyeing  establishments  in  that  city  (the 
chief  of  which  is  that  of  Weidmann  &  Greppo),  have  been  given.  There 
are  about  the  same  number  in  and  near  Philadelphia,  the  Quaker  City  Dye 
&  Print  Works  of  Rudolph  Klauder  &  Co.  being  the  most  important;  the 
others  are  Charles  Morel  &  Sons,  T.  Jones  &  Son,  and  M.  C.  Cuttle. 
In  New  York  City,  James  Heidenrick  has  an  extensive  dye-house  ;  and 
there  are  dye-works  on  Staten  Island  of  established  reputation  in  handling 
silks  as  well  as  woolens. 

The  art  of  dyeing  has  undergone  a  notable  change  since  the  discovery 
of  the  aniline  colors.  These  were  promptly  accepted  by  Fashion,  the 
arbitress  of  the  dyer,  and  each  new  hue  has  compelled  him  to  make  some 
change  in  his  processes,  until  at  the  present  day  the  older  colors  and  methods 
are,  with  few  exceptions,  unknown  in  the  dye-house.  France  took  the 
lead  in  the  discovery  and  u%e  of  most  of  these  modern  colors,  but  the 
science  and  ingenuity  of  Americans  have  not  proved  wanting  in  the  altered 
circumstances,  and  it  is  now  admitted  abroad  as  well  as  at  home  that  the 
color  obtained  by  our  silk  dyers  is,  in  purity,  delicacy  and  permanence, 
generally  equal  and  in  many  instances  superior  to  the  foreign  production. 

A  further  advantage  has  been  obtained  from  the  fact  that  the  trick  of 
weighting  silks  by  introducing  heavy  chemicals  in  the  dye,  has  been  car- 
ried to  a  far  more  injurious  extent  in  Europe  than  here.  If  we  may  trust 
a  recent  writer  in  a  French  journal,  we  must  admit  that  France  has  sur- 
passed all  other  countries  in  achieving  this  bad  eminence.  The  percentage 
of  added  material  with  black  silks,  is  stated,  in  the  publication  referred  to, 
as  amounting  to  100,  200,  and  even  300  per  cent.  The  salts  used  to  effect 
this  increase,  are  compounds  with  iron,  tin,  and  the  alkalies  as  bases — 


136 


APPENDIX. 


mostly  astringent  salts,  but  among  them  are  the  cyanides,  all  of  which  arc 
prompt  and  deadly  poisons.  The  weight  and  apparent  lustre  of  the 
fabric  are  preserved,  and  there  is  a  semblance  of  silk  with  a  good  "  body  " 
that  attracts  purchasers.  Very  brief  wear  reveals  the  deception.  The 
cohesiveness,  the  real  strength  of  fibre,  and  the  elasticity  are  largely 
reduced.  As  an  evidence  of  the  change,  the  goods  have  become  highly 
combustible  ;  but  when  burned  they  fail  to  give  the  usual  odor  of  animal 
matter  by  which  burnt  silk  is  readily  recognized  when  tested  for  compari- 
son with  vegetable  fabrics.  A  few  years  ago  there  were  two  or  three 
instances  of  spontaneous  combustion  among  goods  of  this  class,  stored  in. 
Paris.  The  portions  yet  unburned  were  found,  on  an  official  investigation, 
to  be  changed  to  a  kind  of  tinder.  American  manufacturers  justly  pride 
themselves  on  having  discountenanced,  this  species  of  fraud  :  pure  dye  silks 
are  with  them  the  rule  ;  weighted  goods,  the  rare  exception. 


Erratum. 

On  page  107,  line  33,  for  "  bar,"  read  cylinder. 


« 


In  connection  with  the  History  of  Silk  Industry,  it  has  been  thought 
desirable  to  present  also,  the  last  Annual  Report  of  the  Silk  Association  of 
America  ;  the  one  giving  a  picture  of  the  past,  more  or  less  remote,  the 
other,  of  the  active,  living  present.  The  Report  contains  a  variety  of 
interesting  information  not  elsewhere  attainable.  It  includes  reviews  of 
the  silk  trade  and  manufacture  for  the  past  year,  written  by  men  actually 
engaged  in  the  respective  branches  of  business  which  they  describe  ;  these 
arc  of  unquestionable  value  to  the  trade,  and  are  not  wanting  in  interest 
to  the  general  public  that  consumes  silk  goods.  Elaborate  statistics,  cov- 
ering the  whole  range  of  silk  production  are  also  appended,  which  will 
prove  of  service  to  all  who  study  the  movements  of  commerce,  the  ad- 
vances of  industry,  or  the  relations  of  capital  and  labor. 

Secretary's  Office,  93  Duane  Street,  New  York. 
June,  1876. 


FOURTH 

ANNUAL  REPORT 


OF 


OF  AMERICA, 


Wednesday,  April  26th,  1876. 


COMMITTEE  ON  STATISTICS. 


Wm.  Strange,  Paterson,  N.  J. 

Wm.  Ryle,  New  York. 

Geo.  B.  Skinner  &  Co.,  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 

Seavky,  Foster  &  Bowman,  Canton,  Mass. 

Cheney  Brothers,  South  Manchester,Conn. 


Hamil  &  Booth,  Paterson,  N.  J. 
A.  SoLELiAc  &  Sons,  Paterson,  N.  J. 
Weidmann  &  Greppo,  Paterson,  N.  J. 
Wm.  H.  Horstmann  &  Sons,  Philadera, 
Franklin  Allen,  Secretary, 


Nesbitt  &  Co.,  Printkks,  N.  Y, 


t:e3:e 

SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


BOARD    OF    GOVERNMENT  1876—77. 


President. 

FRANK  W.  CHENEY,   -       -       -       -  Hartford,  Conn. 

Vice-Presidents. 

THOMAS  N.  DALE,  -       -       -       _  Paterson,  N.  J. 

A.  B.  STRANGE,  -----  New  York. 
WILLIAM  RYLE,        -       -       -       -  New  York. 

Directors. 

F.  O.  HORSTMANN,    -       -       .       .  Philadelphia. 

B.  RICHARDSON,      -       -               -  New  York. 
GEORGE  B.  SKINNER,-       -       -       -  New  York  and  Yonkers. 
IRA  DIMOCK,   -----  Florence,  Mass. 
WILLIAM  STRANGE,    -       -       -       -  Paterson,  N.  J. 

C.  GREPPO,       .       ^       -        -        -  Paterson,  N.  J. 
A.  SOLELIAC,        -----  New  York. 
WILLIAM  SKINNER,  -       -       -       -  Holyoke,  Mass. 
SETH  LOW,  ------  New  York. 

I.  A.  HOPPER,   -----  Newark,  N.  J. 

GEO.  H.  BURRITT,      ...       -  New  York. 

L.  BAYARD  SMITH,  -       -       -       -  New  York. 

MILO  M.  BELDING,     -       -       -       -  Rockville,  Conn. 

D.  O'DONOGHUE,    -      .  -       -       -  New  York. 

A.  G.  JENNINGS,  -----  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

LOUIS  FRANKE,        .       -       -       -  New  York. 

C.  LAMBERT,        .       .        .       _       -  Paterson,  N.  J. 

JOHN  T.  WALKER,  -       -       -       -  New  York. 

J.  W.  C.  SEAVEY,-        .        -        -        -  Canton,  Mass. 

FRANK  CHENEY,       .        -        -        .  South  Manchester,  Conn. 

Treasurer. 

JOHN  N.  STEARNS,      -       ^       -       -  New  York. 

Secretary. 

FRANKLIN  ALLEN,    ~       ^  -  93  Duane  Street,  N.  Y. 


COMMITTEES  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


1  876. 


Bilk  Conditioning. 

WILLIAM  STRANGE,  B.RICHARDSON, 
WILLIAM  RYLE,  JOHN  N.  STEARNS, 

GEORGE  B.  SKINNER,  SETH  LOW. 


jldultcrations  of  jlsiatio  Bilks, 

B.  RICHARDSON,  SETH  LOW, 

F.  W.  CHENEY,  IRA  DIMOCK. 

JOHN  N.  STEARNS, 


ifevenwe  Laws. 

WILLIAM  STRANGE,  A.  SOLELIAC, 

F.  O,  HORSTMANN,  SETH  LOW, 

B.  RICHARDSON,  ROBERT  HAMIL,  Honorary. 


jlnnual  0inner. 

THOMAS  N,  DALE,  F.  O.  HORSTMANN, 

P.  RICHARDSON,  The  SECRETARY. 

JOHN  D.  CUTTER, 


Statistics, 


WILLIAM  STRANGE, 
WILLIAM  RYLE, 
GEO.  B.  SKINNER  &  CO., 
SEAVEY,  FOSTER  &  BOWMAN 
CHENEY  BROTHERS, 


HAMIL  &  BOOTH. 
A.  SOLELIAC  &  SONS, 
WEIDMANN  &  GREPPO, 
WM   H.  HORSTMANN  &  SONS, 
The  SECRETARY 


A.  B.  STRANGE, 


Finance. 

SETH  LOW 


GEO.  B.  SKINNER, 


CATALOGUE  OF 

MEMBERS  AND  SUBSCRIBERS. 

THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 

1  8  7  6. 


Aub,  Hackenburg  &  Co.,     -        -      20  North  3d  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
C.  A.  AufFmordt  &  Co.,         -        -        -      10  Greene  St.,  New  York. 
David  A.  Barnes,  Paterson,  N.  J. 

A.  Begoden,  _____        1 2  Old  Slip,  New  York. 

Belding  Bros.  &  Co.,  ------      Rockville,  Conn. 

Bernstein  &  Mack,  _        _        _        _    47^  Broadway,  New  York. 

C.  L.  Bottum  &  Co.,  ------   Willimantic,  Conn. 

Brainerd,  Armstrong  &  Co.,     -       -        -     469  Broadway,  New  York. 
Geo.  H.  Burritt,         -        -        -        -         32  Burling  Slip,  " 

Gary  &  Co.,         _       .       _       -       -  90  Pine  St., 

S.  W.  Clapp,  _  -  _  -  -  -  7  Mercer  St., 
John  Caswell  &  Co.,  .  -  -  -  87  Front  St., 
O.  S.  ChafFee  &  Son,   Mansfield  Centre,  Conn» 

C.  ChafFonjon,  Hudson  City,  N.  J. 

F.  W.  Cheney,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Frank  Cheney,        -----        South  Manchester,  *' 

Samuel  Coit,  Hartford,  " 

A.  A.  &  H.  E.  Conant,  Willimantic,  " 

Wm.  H.  Copcutt  &  Co.,  -  -  -  -  350  Canal  St.,  New  York. 
J.  D.  Cutter,  92  Church  St., 

Thos.  N.  Dale,  Paterson.  N.  J. 

Ira  Dimock,    --------      Florence,  Mass. 

D.  O'Donoghue,  .  -  _  -  48  Howard  St.,  New  York. 
A.  B.  Fenner,  Treas.  Scranton  Silk  Co.,   -       -    Central  Village,  Conn. 

Wm.  H.  Fogg,  32  Burling  Slip,  New  York. 

Louis  Franke,         .       -       -        .       -     489  Broadway, 

Hugo  Funke,  343  Canal  St.,  " 

A.  H.  Gibbes,  Agent  Swire  Bros.,  -       -         68  Wall  St., 

J.  C.  Graham,  -       -       -       -         525  Cherry  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


142 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


C.  Greppo,       ------   ^oo  Broadway,  New  York. 

J.  H.  Hayden,       -        -        -        -        -        -     Windsor  Locks,  Conn. 

Thos.  F.  Hayes,        -       -        -        -   77  University  Place,  New  York. 

E.  L.  Hedden,  of  Wetmore,  Cryder  &  Co.,      74  South  St., 
Jacob  Heinemann,     -        -        -        -        -  28  Howard  St.,  " 

Hensel,  Colladay  &  Co.,        -        -    22  North  4th  Sc.,  Philadelphia,  Pt. 

E.  Holdsworth,        ------  Shanghai,  China. 

B.  Hooley  &  Son,  -  -  -  226  Market  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
L  A.  Hooper,  Pres't  Singer  Mf 'g  Co.,  Union  Sq.  and  16th  St.,  New  York. 
Wm.  H.  Horstmann  &  Sons,  -      Fifth  and  Cherry  Sts,,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

F.  O.  Horstmann,     -        -  - 

F.  S.  Hovey,         -       -        -        -     248  Chestnut  St., 
Wm.  lies,  Yonkers,  New  York. 

Werner  Itschner,  -  -  -  -  233  Chestnut  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
A.  G.  Jennings,  .  _  .  .  .  ^28  Broome  St.,  New  York. 
Rowland  Johnson,         -        -        _        -  Beaver  St.,  " 

Alexander  King  &  Co.,     -  -        -       52  White  St., 

Rudolph  Klauder,  -  cor.  Howard  &  Oxford  Sts.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Tobias  Kohn,   --------    Hartford,  Conn. 

C.  Lambert  -        ...        -         10  Greene  St.,  New  York. 

A.  A.  Low  &  Bros.,         -       -       -       -  31  Burling  Slip, 
Seth  Low,    -       -       ^       -       -       -  " 

McFarlane  Bros.,  -----  Mansfield  Centre,  Conn. 
S.  M.  Meyenberg,        -        -       u,       -  Lispenard  St.,  New  York. 

Wm.  F.  Milton  &  Co.,    -       -       -       -       71  South  St., 
Nonotuck  Silk  Co.,  Florence,  Mass. 

Oneida  Community,  -        -        -        -        -       Oneida,  N.  Y. 

Pelgram  &  Meyer,        ...        -  Broome  St.,  New  York. 

J.  C.  Phillips  &  Co.,        -       -        -        -     130  Water  St., 
Phoenix  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.,    -       -        -        -  Paterson,  N.  J, 

B.  Richardson,     -        -        -        -        -        -   ^  Mercer  St.,  New  York, 

F.  G.  Richardson,  "  - 

R.  Rossmiissler,    -        -        -    319  to  323  Garden  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

John  Ryle,  Paterson,  N.  J. 

Reuben  Ryle  &  Co.,    -       -       -       -  19  Mercer  St.,  New  York. 

Wm.  Ryle,      -        -        -        -        -        -    297  Broadway, 

Seavey,  Foster  &  Bowman,  Canton,  Mass. 

J.  Silbermann  &  Co.,  -  -  -  -  21  Mercer  St.,  New  York. 
Geo.  B.  Skinner,  -       -       -       .         5^  Walker  St.,  " 

Wm.  Skinner,  --------     Holyoke,  Mass. 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


Chas.  F.  Simes,  48  Howard  St.,  New  York. 

Herman  Simon,  Town  of  Union,  N.  J. 

L.  Bayard  Smith,      -        -        -        .  77  William  St.,  New  York. 

H.  Erskine  Smith,  .       -       -  - 

A.  Soleliac  &  Sons,  -  -  -  -  -  92  Grand  St.,  ** 
A.  B.  Strange,       -        -        .        -       ,  Broome  St.,  " 

Wm.  Strange,    --------    Paterson,  N.  ]. 

John  N.  Stearns,  43  Mercer  St.,  New  York, 

L.  R.  Stelle,     -----  Sauquoit,  near  Utica,  N.  Y. 

Geo.  W.  Talbot  (Olyphant  &  Co.,  of  China),  104  Wall  St.,  New  York. 

Albert  Tilt,  477  Broome  St.,  " 

Vogel,  Hagedorn  &  Co.,      -       -         Hong  Kong  &  Shanghai,  China. 

John  T.  Walker,  81  Pine  St.,  New  York. 

Warner  &  Lathrop,     ------  Northampton,  Ma^s. 

Jacob  Weidmann,    -------      Paterson,  N.  J. 

Wood,  Payson  &  Colgate,     -       -       -       -    64  Pine  St.,  New  York. 


HONORARY  MEMBERS, 

Robert  Hamil,  President  Silk  Industry  Association, 

of  Paterson,  N.  J.,  -  -  -  57  Walker  St ,  New  York. 
T.  Tomita,  Vice-Consul  of  the  Empire  of  Japan,  7  Warren  St.,  " 


PREAMBLE  AND  BY-LAWS 

OF  THE 

SILK   ASSOCIATION   OF  AMERICA, 

IN  FORCE  APRIL,  1876. 


Whereas,  the  Silk  interest  constitutes  an  important  branch  of  National 
Industry,  largely  involving  the  labor  and  capital  of  the  country  ;  and, 
whereas,  its  future  growth  and  permanent  success  require  greater  co- 
operation on  the  part  of  those  engaged  in  it,  than  has  heretofore  existed  ; 

Therefore,  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the  advancement  and  prosperity 
of  this  interest  more  eftectually,  by  the  increase  of  information,  by  the  in- 
terchange of  ideas,  by  harmonious  action,  and  by  all  other  appropriate 
means,  we,  the  subscribers,  agree  to  associate  ourselves  together,  under  the 
name  of  The  Silk  Association  of  America,  and  be  governed  by  such  rules 
and  by-laws  as  the  Association  may,  from  time  10  time,  adopt. 


BY-LAWS. 


ARTICLE  I. 

CONDITION  OF  MEMBERSHIP. 

Section  I. — Any  person  being  a  principal  or  partner  of  a  firm  or  officer  of  a  corporation 
engaged  in  the  Silk  Industry  of  the  United  States,  or  any  person  holding  power  of  attorney 
of  a  member,  may  become  a  member  of  this  Association, 

Persons  not  residing  in  the  United  States  engaged  in  pursuits  in  any  wise  connected  with 
the  Silk  trade  of  America,  may  become  members  of  this  Association. 

Sec.  2. — No  person  shall  be  eligible  for  membership  who  is  not  proposed  for  election 
by  some  actual  member,  by  written  notice  to  the  President  or  Secretary  j  and  no  person 
shall  be  admitted  if  five  or  more  negatives  are  given  against  him. 

Sec.  3. — The  Government,  at  any  duly  organized  meeting,  may  elect  corresponding  and 
honorary  members,  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  members  present  5  such  corresponding  or 
honorary  members  shall  be  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  regular  members,  except  the 
right  to  vote  or  hold  office. 


146 


BY-LAWS,  IN  FORCE,  APRIL,  1 876. 


Sec.  4. — Each  person  admitted  as  a  member  of  the  Association,  except  corresponding 
or  honorary  members,  shall  pay  to  the  Secretary  the  sum  of  twenty-five  dollars  as  an 
admission  fee,  which  shall  be  m  full  for  the  year  in  which  he  is  elected,  and  thereafter  he 
shall  pay  annually,  while  he  shall  remain  a  member,  the  sum  of  twenty-five  dollars. 

Sec.  5. — Upon  the  refusal  or  failure  by  any  member  to  pay  his  just  dues  and  subscriptions, 
his  name  shall  be  presented  to  the  Government,  and  upon  their  vote,  shall  be  struck  from 
the  list  of  members. 

Sec.  6. — Any  member  can  withdraw  from  the  Association  after  fulfilling  all  his  obli- 
gations to  it,  by  giving  written  notice  of  such  intention  to  the  Secretary. 


ARTICLE  n. 

classification  of  members. 

Sec.  I. — The  members  of  the  Association  may  be  classified  by  the  Secretary  in  five 
several  divisions,  according  to  the  branch  of  the  silk  business  in  which  they  are  respec- 
tively engaged,  which  divisions  shall  be  as  follows  : 

Division  A  Importers,  dealers  and  brokers  in  raw  silk. 

B. . .  .Throwsters  of  and  dealers  in  gum  silk. 
"       C. ...  Manufacturers  of  sewing  silks  and  twist, 
"       D  Weavers  and  Dyers, 

"       E. ...  Manufacturers  of  fringe,  braid,  trimmings,  &c. 

The  divisions  may  be  separately  organized  by  the  selection  of  a  chairman  by  each,  with 
such  other  officers  and  committees  as  may  be  desired,  and  shall  occupy  the  rooms  of  the 
Association  for  their  meetings,  under  arrangement  with  the  Government  j  and  through 
their  chairman,  may  report  to,  or  communicate  with  the  Association  at  it?  general 
meetings  upon  any  matter  relating  to  their  special  branches. 

Sec.  2. — Members  engaged  in  several  branches  of  the  silk  business  may  be  registered 
under  each. 

ARTICLE  III. 

OFFICERS   AND   THEIR  ELECTION, 

Sec,  I, — The  officers  of  the  Association  shall  consist  of  a  President,  three  Vice-Presi- 
dents, a  Treasurer,  not  less  than  twelve  and  not  more  than  twenty  Directors,  who 
together  shall  constitute  the  Government  of  the  Association,  and  five  of  whom  shall  form 
a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business. 

Sec.  2. — The  Government  shall  have  power  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  Association} 
to  hold  meet.ngs  at  such  times  and  places  as  they  may  think  proper  j  to  appoint  com- 
mittees on  particular  subjects  from  the  members  of  the  Government,  or  from  other  members 
of  the  Association,  with  full  power  to  act  on  such  committees  as  though  members  of  the 
Government  5  to  audit  bills,  and  appropriate  the  funds  of  the  Association  5  to  print  and 
circulate  documents,  and  publish  articles  in  the  newspapers  ;  to  carry  on  correspondence 
and  otherwise  communicate  with  other  Associations  interested  in  the  development  of  the 
Silk  Industry  5  to  employ  agents,  and  to  devise  and  carry  into  execution  such  other 
measures  as  they  may  deem  proper  and  expedient  to  promote  the  object  of  the  Associa- 
tion. 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


Sec.  3. — After  the  first  choice,  all  the  officers  of  the  Association  shall  be  annually 
elected  by  ballot  at  the  annual  meeting,  at  such  place  as  the  Government  may  appoint,  a 
majority  of  the  members  present  being  necessary  to  constitute  an  election,  and  such  officers 
shall  continue  in  office  for  the  term  of  one  year,  or  until  their  successors  are  elected  and 
qualified  to  take  their  places. 

Sec.  4. — The  Government  of  the  Association  shall  choose  a  Secretary  and  fix  his 
salary  ;  and  may  fill  any  vacancies  occurring  in  their  body,  by  death,  declination  to  serve, 
resignation,  or  any  other  cause,  after  the  annual  election,  at  any  regular  or  special  meet- 
ing at  which  a  quorum  shall  be  present. 

ARTICLE  IV, 

DUTIES    OF  OFFICERS. 

Sec.  I. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President,  or,  in  his  absence,  of  one  of  the  Vice- 
Presidents,  in  order  of  seniority,  to  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  Association  and  of  the 
Government;  and  the  President  or  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents  shall  audit  and  sign  the 
annual  accounts  of  the  Treasurer. 

Sec.  2.  —  The  Treasurer  shall  keep  an  account  of  all  moneys  received  and  expended  for 
the  use  of  the  Association,  and  shall  make  disbursements  only  upon  vouchers  approved,  in 
writing,  by  the  Secretary  and  any  member  of  the  Government.  When  his  term  of  office 
expires,  he  shall  deliver  over  to  his  successor  all  books,  moneys  and  other  property;  or  in 
absence  of  the  Treasurer  elect,  to  the  President. 

Sec.  3. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary,  who  shall  not  be  engaged  in  any  branch 
of  the  Silk  Industry,  to  give  notice  of,  and  attend  all  meetings  of  the  Association  and  its 
several  divisions,  and  to  keep  a  record  of  their  doings  5  to  conduct  all  correspondence,  and 
to  carry  into  execution  all  orders,  votes  and  resolves,  not  otherwise  committed  ;  to  keep  a  list 
of  the  members  of  the  Association  ;  to  collect  the  fees,  annual  dues  and  subscriptions,  and 
pay  them  over  to  the  Treasurer;  to  notify  officers  and  members  of  the  Association  of  their 
election;  to  notify  members  of  their  appointment  on  committees;  to  furnish  the  chairman 
of  each  committee  with  a  copy  of  the  vote  under  which  the  committee  is  appointed,  and 
at  his  request  give  notice  of  the  meetings  of  the  committee ;  to  prepare,  under  direction 
of  the  Government,  an  annual  report  of  the  transactions  and  condition  of  the  Association  j 
and  generally  to  devote  his  best  efforts  to  forwarding  the  business  and  advancing  the 
interests  of  the  Association. 

ARTICLE  V. 

meetings  of  the  association. 

Sec,  1. — The  regular  meetings  of  this  Association  shall  be  held  at  such  place  as  the 
Government  may  appoint,  upon  the  second  Wednesday  of  February,  May,  August,  and 
November,  and  notice  of  such  meetings,  signed  by  the  Secretary,  shall  be  mailed  to  the 
address  of  each  member,  at  least  ten  days  before  the  time  appointed  for  the  meeting. 

Sec  2. — The  meeting  in  May  shall  be  the  Annual  Meeting,  for  the  election  of 
officers,  and  receiving  the  report  of  the  Government 

Provided,  that  in  the  year  1876  the  annual  meeting  for  the  election  of  officers  to  serve 
in  the  year  ensuing  and  for  receiving  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Government,  may  be  held 
on  the  last  Wednesday  of  April,  at  such  place  as  the  Board  of  Government  may  appoint 
instead  and  in  lieu  of  the  second  Wednesday  of  May  as  provided  for  in  sections  I  and  2  of 


148 


BY-LAWS,  IN  FORCE,  APRIL,   1 876. 


article  V  of  the  by-laws  :  the  said  change  being  deemed  advisable  in  consequence  of  the 
said  second  Wednesday  of  May,  1 876,  having  been  designated  by  the  United  States  Cen- 
tennial Commission  for  the  opening  and  inauguration  services  of  the  International  Exhibi- 
tion at  Philadelphia. 

Sec.  3. — Special  meetings  may  be  called  by  the  Government,  or  upon  the  written 
application  to  the  Secretary,  of  ten  members,  not  in  the  Government  5  notice  thereof  to  be 
given  in  the  same  manner  as  for  the  Regular  Meetings. 

Sec  4. — It  shall  require  ten  members  present  at  any  meeting  to  form  a  quorum;  and,  in 
case  of  there  not  being  a  quorum,  the  meeting  may  be  adjourned  by  the  presiding  officer. 


ARTICLE  VL 
The  order  of  business  shall  be  as  follows  : 
1.  — Calling  of  the  Roll. 
2.. — Reading  of  the  Minutes. 

3.  — Election  of  Officers  or  New  Members, 

4.  — Reports  of  Officers 

5.  — Reports  of  Committees. 

6.  — Receiving  Communications. 

7.  — Unfinished  Business. 

8.  — New  Business. 

ARTICLE  VIL 

Sec.  I. — These  By-Laws  may  be  amended  or  repealed  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the 
members  piesent  at  any  duly  organized  meeting  of  the  Association  5  provided  notice  of 
such  proposed  change  shall  have  been  presented,  in  writing,  at  a  previous  meeting. 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  MEETING  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION. 

April  26th,  1876. 


The  fourth  annual  meeting  of  the  Silk  Association  of 
America  was  held  at  its  office,  No.  93  Duane  Street,  New 
York,  on  the  26th  of  April,  1876,  at  2  P.  M.;  the  members 
present  representing  the  raw  silk  importing  interest,  and  silk 
manufactures  established  in  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New 
Jersey  and  New  York. 

Mr.  William  Ryle,  3d  Vice-President,  occupied  the  chair. 

The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting,  held  February  25th,  were 
read  and  approved. 

The  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  was,  on  motion, 
deferred  until  after  the  reading  of  the  Annual  Reports. 

The  Annual  Reports  cf  the  Treasurer,  Secretary  and  the 
Committee  on  Statistics  v/ere  then  presented,  and,  on  motion, 
were  accepted. 

On  motion,  a  Committee  on  Nominations  was  ordered  to 
report  the  names  of  suitable  officers  for  the  Association. 
Messrs.  John  N.  Stearns,  S.  W.  Clapp,  and  Wm.  Strange 
were  thereupon  appointed  a  Committee  on  Nominations, 
and  upon  their  request  that  a  representative  of  the  raw  silk 
importing  interest  be  added  to  the  Committee,  Mr.  Seth 
Low  was  so  appointed  by  the  Chair.  The  Committee  re- 
ported as  candidates  for  election,  the  gentlemen  elscAvhere 
named  under  the  head  of     Board  of  Government,  iSyS-yy.'' 

The  said  candidates  were  unanimously  elected  officers  of 
the  Association  for  the  ensuing  year. 

On  the  call  of  committees, 

Mr.  William  Strange,  Chairman  of  the  Silk  Conditioning 
Committee,  reported  in  favor  of  making  an  earnest  effort  at 
this  time  to  establish  a  Silk  Conditioning  Bureau,  under  the 
control  of  a  committee  to  be  appointed  by  the  Association, 
that  should  act  as  an  advisor}-  Board  to  the  chemists,  Messrs 


150 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  MEETING. 


Bourgougnon  and  Doremus.  He  reported  that  the  condition- 
ing apparatus  provided  by  these  chemists  at  their  own  ex- 
pense had  recently  been  inspected  by  the  committee ;  that 
samples  from  bales  of  silk  conditioned  at  Lyons  had  been  con- 
ditioned by  them,  and  the  returns  found  to  agree  substan- 
tially with  the  conditioning  papers  of  the  Lyons  establish- 
ment; and  that  the  only  element  of  success  lacking  is  a 
general  assent  to  the  project. 

On  motion  the  report  of  the  Committee  was  accepted,  the 
Committee  was  continued,  and  Mr.  Seth  Low  was  elected  an 
additional  member  of  the  Silk  Conditioning  Committee  of  the 
Association. 

On  the  call  for  new  business,  a  member  inquired  whether 
a  rule  could  be  adopted  by  the  trade  which  would  settle  the 
amount  of  tare  in  weight  of  raw  silk  to  be  allowed  the  pur- 
chaser by  the  seller. '  The  question  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Association  on  the  subject  was  discussed,  as  well  as  the  subject 
itself ;  and  it  was  agreed  that  while  the  Association  is  not 
clothed  with  power  to  enforce  a  rule  regulating  purchase  and 
sale  which  shall  be  binding  upon  the  trade,  the  custom  of  the 
trade  has  usually  been  found  to  give  satisfaction,  viz :  to  al- 
low one  per  cent,  tare  on  re-reeled  Tsatlees ;  that  in  general 
the  customary  manner  of  putting  up  silks  is  implied:  that 
when  an  extraordinary  amount  of  paper,  string,  etc.,  is  found 
in  the  package,  the  buyer  usually  asks  and  receives  a  propor- 
tionate allowance  ;  and  that  a  departure  from  the  customary' 
manner  of  packing  silk  is  not  bindmg  upon  either  party  for  a 
fixed  rate  of  allowance,  but  is  a  matter  for  individual  agree- 
ment and  settlement  between  the  buyer  and  seller. 

On  motion,  it  was 

Resolved^  That  the  Annual  Dinner  of  the  Association  this 
year  be  given  at  such  time  and  place  as  the  Board  of 
Government  of  the  Association  may  appoint. 
The  Secretary  referred  to  the  need  existing  for  the  utmost 
economy  in  expenditures  in  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  As- 
sociation, and  desired  it  to  be  generally  understood  that  he 
would  personally  co-operate  to  the  best  of  his  ability  in  limit- 
ing the  expenses  to  the  lowest  point  rendered  necessary  by 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA.  151 

the  dullness  of  trade  at  the  present  time ;  and  he  asked  for 
the  appointment  of  a  Committee  to  supervise  the  expenditures 
of  the  Association.  The  opinion  was  generally  held  that  the 
revenues  of  the  Association  have  reached  a  point  which  make 
the  appointment  of  a  Finance  Committee  desirable,  and  on 
motion  it  was 

Resolved^  That  this  meeting  favors  the  appointment  of  a 
Finance  Committee  of  the  Association,  and  that  the 
matter  be  referred  to  the  Board  of  Government  for 
appropriate  action. 

On  motion,  the  meeting  adjourned. 

FRANKLIN  ALLEN, 

Secretary. 


SECRETARY'S  REPORT. 


In  conformity  with  the  by-laws  of  the  Association,  the 
Secretary  has  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report,  pre- 
pared under  direction  of  its  Board  of  Government,  and 
presenting  a  review  for  the  past  year  of  the  transactions  and 
condition  of  The  Silk  Association  of  America. 

The  year  1875  was  the  most  prosperous  that  the  silk 
industry  in  America  has  ever  experienced,  if  considered  in 
respect  to  the  quantity  of  raw  material  consumed,  and  the 
amount  of  labor  employed  in  silk  manufacture.  True,  the 
margin  of  profits  of  employers  was  small,  relatively  to  the 
amount  of  business  done,  as  compared  with  some  previous 
years  ;  but  it  is  an  encouraging  fact,  that  during  a  period  of 
general  depression  in  other  branches  of  industry,  the  silk 
manufacturers  were  not  only  enabled  to  furnish  employment  to 
as  many  operators  as  usual,  but  to  give  steady  work  and  fair 
wages  to  a  considerable  additional  number.  Specially  has 
this  increase  taken  place  in  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  where  in 
the  past  year,  the  manufacture  of  broad  goods  was  greatly 
extended,  and  the  production  of  ribbons,  handkerchiefs,  fancy 
silks  for  trimmings,  ties,  &c.,  was  more  than  double  that  of 
1874. 

A  marked  feature  of  the  increased  activity  in  the  silk  trade 
at  Paterson  during  the  past  year,  has  been  the  immigration  of 
a  number  of  so-called  master  silk-weavers  from  France  and 
England.  These  men  individually  own  several  looms,  Avhich 
in  many  instances  they  have  brought  with  them.  They  carry 
on  the  weaving  at  their  homes,  one  or  more  rooms  being  fitted 
up  for  this  purpose.  As  business  increases,  they  employ  so- 
called  journeymen  weavers,  who  in  turn  will  become  master 
weavers  and  loom  owners,  and  thus  build  up  a  valuable 
though  independent  auxiliary  to  the  gi-eat  factories.  We 
learn  that  this  movement  meets  with  the  approval  and  sup- 


154 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


port  of  the  employers,  and  undoubtedly  in  time  those  who 
approve  themselves  to  the  good  opinion  of  the  manufacturers 
will  be  helped  in  the  purchase  of  machines,  and  the  way  be 
opened  for  better  understanding  and  more  cordial  relations 
between  employers  and  employed,  to  the  manifest  advantage 
of  both. 

The  import  of  raw  silk  in  1875  to  supply  our  manufactures 
was  50  per  cent,  larger  than  in  1874,  and  38,807  lbs.  in  excess 
of  1 87 1,  which,  previous  to  1875,  was  the  largest  year. 

The  following  table  shows  the  quantity  imported  smce 
the  year  1868  : 


1868   600,035  pounds. 

1869   695,353 

1870   738,381 

1871   1,291,675  " 

1872   1,244,193 

1873   831,728  " 

1874   806,774 

1875   1,330,482 


An  unmistakable  sign  of  the  times  "  is  the  fact  that  for- 
eign commission  houses  in  this  city  are  now  seeking  consign- 
ments of  American  silks. 

Reviews  of  the  different  branches  of  manufacture,  supple- 
mented by  valuable  suggestions  and  observations,  will  be 
found  herein  presented  by  representative  houses  in  the  several 
departments  of  trade.  In  the  following  tables  there  is  compiled 
a  summary  of  the  returns  that  have  been  received  in  response 
to  the  requests  of  the  Committee  on  Statistics : — 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


VALUE  OF  PRODUCTS,  CLASSIFIED  BY  ARTICLES,  MANU- 
FACTURED IN  THE  YEAR  ENDING  DECEMBER  31,  1875. 


lbs. 


Tram, 
Organzine,  " 
Spun  Silk,  .  . 

Fringe  "  .  . 

Floss     "  *'  .. 

Sewing  Silk  "    . . 

Machine  Twist,    "    .  . 

Dress  Goods  

Millinery  and  Tie  Silks 

Women's  Scarfs  

Men's  "   

Handkerchiefs  

Foulards  

Ribbons  , 

Laces  

Coach  Laces  

Veils  and  Veiling  .... 

Silk  Hose  

Braids  and  Bindings.  .  . 
Military  Trimmings  . . , 
Upholstery  '* 
Ladies'  Dress  ** 


461,518   $2,976,501 

230,606   1,819,000 


1 50,000 

42,327 
6,861 

85, 211 

459,259 


Total  Products  1875,   1,435,782  lbs. 


Pounds. 

Reeled  Silk  consumed   1,285,782 

Spun      "  **        ....  150,000 


Total  Silk  Threads..  1,435,782 
Consumed  in  sewings  &  twist  544,470 


lvalue. 
$1  1,502,391 

850,000 

12,352,391 
6,420,833 


850,000 
243,489 
42,568 
885,079 

5.535.754 
1,41  2,500 
2,544,191 
104,523 
30,000 
905,115 
450,000 
4,815,485 
164,000 
35.652 
65,264 
6,000 
383,100 
33,000 
459,613 
3.397.237 
$27,158,071 


12,352,39: 


do    in  weaving   891,312         ^5,93  1,55^  $14,805,680 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


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164 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT* 


RAW  SILK. 

Season  of  1 875-1876. 
[Presented  by  Mr.  William  Ryle.] 

The  season  of  1875-6  has  been  an  eventful  one  in  the  history 
of  the  silk  trade-  Production  and  consumption  of  the  raw 
material  have  both  been  on  the  increase,  and  prices  have  been 
such  as  to  offer  much  encouragement.  The  production  of 
raw  silk  in  China  has  been  greater  than  during  the  preceding 
year.  This  is  accounted  for  by  a  very  large  increase  in  the 
Canton  districts,  which  has  more  than  counterbalanced  the 
slight  falling  off  at  Shangh-^.e. 

Shanghae  silks  have  been  fully  up  to  the  average  in  quality, 
but  some  of  the  lower  grades  of  re-reels — more  especially 
Tsatlee  sorts — have  been  very  dirty,  and  most  abominably 
adulterated,  as  much  as  21  per  cent,  of  adulteration  having 
been  detected  in  one  lot.  The  older  and  best-known  chops 
of  re-reeled  Haineen  have  fully  maintained  their  character, 
both  as  to  quality  and  freedom  from  adulteration.  Would 
that  the  same  could  be  said  of  best  R.  R.  Tsatlees  !  A  note- 
worthy— because  characteristic — instance  of  Chinese  decep- 
tion occurred  during  the  past  season  in  this  description  of 
silk.  A  manufacturing  firm,  desirous  of  obtaining  a  supply 
of  one  chop  of  silk,  so  as  to  insure  uniformity  in  their  goods, 
placed  an  order  at  the  commencement  of  the  season  with  a 
prominent  re-reeler  for  100  bales  of  raw  silk,  deliverable  in 
shipments  of  twenty  bales  per  month.  The  price  contracted 
for  was  a  liberal  one  on  the  part  of  the  manufacturer,  and  one 
that  would  have  been  remunerative  to  the  reeler,  had  he 
furnished  pure  silk,  as  stipulated  in  the  order.  The  oppor- 
tunity to  cheat  was  too  much  for  Mongolian  virtue  to  resist, 
and  the  deliveries  were  made  with  the  following  results: 
The  first  shipment  was  as  near  as  possible  to  the  sample,  and 
contained  five  per  cent,  of  foreign  matter.  Every  subsequent 
shipment  was  more  and  more  impure,  until  the  last  arrived 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA 


165 


with  twelve  and  a  half  per  cent,  adulteration,  thus  proving 
the  perpetration  of  a  systematic  fraud. 

One  would  suppose  that  the  loss  of  business  arising-  from 
such  deceitful  practice  would  induce  more  faithful  fulfilment 
of  contracts ;  but  experience  proves  that  all  considerations 
are  inoperative  to  make  the  Chinaman  honest  in  his  dealings 
with  the  foreigner. 

Cantoit  sorts  have  been  fully  up  to  the  standard  of  the  best 
years  as  to  quality ;  but  would  have  been  more  acceptable  to 
the  trade  had  half  the  crop  been  reeled  in  coarse  sizes. 

Japan^  although  increasing  her  export  nearly  thirty  per 
cent.,  has  contributed  but  a  nominal  quantity  to  our  market, 
and  is  the  only  country  from  which  we  draw  a  supply  that 
has  reduced  its  dealings  with  us  during  the  past  year.  After 
so  much  complaint  has  been  made  in  past  years,  it  is  very 
gratifying  to  report  that  the  small  quantity  received  this  sea- 
son from  Japan  has  been  of  good  quality,  and  some  of  it  par- 
ticularly well  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  our  trade.  In 
winding,  the  silk  proved  equal  to  any  from  Europe  ;  and  was 
so  uniform  as  not  to  vary  more  than  4  deniers  in  2  threads 
organzme.  Silk  of  this  quality,  at  a  reasonable  price,  would 
soon  obtain  currency  in  our  markets,  and  could  be  used  in 
almost  any  size  from  14  to  24  deniers.  Sizes  from  18  to  24 
deniers  should,  however,  be  afforded  at  a  price  that  will  com- 
pete with  coarse  re-reeled  Cumchucks  and  Tsatlees. 

European  Silks. — The  crop  of  silk  in  Europe  during  the  past 
season  was  less  than  its  predecessor,  the  total  production  of 
cocoons  showing  a  falling  off  of  ten  per  cent.,  and  of  raw  silk 
of  about  twenty  per  cent.  The  silk  was  reeled  as  well  as 
usual,  but  was  not  equal  to  some  previous  crops  in  the  prop- 
erties which  manufacturers  so  highly  prize,  and  which  have 
especially  characterized  the  productions  of  Northern  Italy. 

Bengal,  Briitia  and  Persian  silks,  not  being  used  here,  do 
not  require  extended  report. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  feature  that  the  diversion  of  silk  from 
England  to  the  countries  of  continental  Europe  has  increased 
to  such  extent  that  London  is  no  longer  the  chief  recipient  of 
China  silk.    During  this  season  Marseilles  has  carried  off  the 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


palm,  the  exports  from  Shanghae  to  France  having  increased 
about  2,000,  while  to  England  they  show  a  falling  off  of  nearly 
7,000  bales.  From  Hong  Kong  we  find  an  increase  of  less 
than  1,000  bales  to  London,  while  France  shows  a  gain  of 
3,400.  From  either  Asiatic  port  France  has  received  more  silk 
than  England,  the  excess  from  Shanghae  being  about  25,  and 
from  Hong  Kong  nearly  40  per  cent.  Switzerland  and  Italy 
also  came  in  for  an  increased  busmess,  having  imported  from 
Shanghae  more  than  double  their  receipts  of  the  previous 
season. 

Before  closing  this  paper,  it  is  perhaps  well  to  recur  to  the 
subject  of  the  adulteration  of  Shanghae  silks.  Wc  have, 
without  avail,  written  so  much  upon  this  topic,  and  endeav- 
ored to  bring  so  many  considerations  and  influences  to  bear 
upon  the  Chinese,  both  through  the  press  and  the  action  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  at  Shanghae,  to  induce  them  to 
discontinue  these  dishonest  practices,  that  it  behooves  us  to 
look  around  for  some  other  means.  It  would  perhaps  be  well 
to  consider  the  advisability  of  seeking  a  supply  of  re-reels 
from  other  countries,  by  obtaining,  if  possible,  a  reconsidera- 
tion of  the  ruling  of  the  Treasury  Department,  dated  March 
28,  1866,  which  imposes  a  duty  of  35  per  cent,  upon  silk  re- 
reeled  in  all  countries  other  than  those  of  its  production. 
The  removal  of  this  restriction  would  open  new  avenues  of 
supply  of  re-reeled  Chinas  from  England  or  continental 
Europe,  where  labor  is  so  much  cheaper  than  here.  It  would 
also  enable  our  manufacturers  to  avail  themselves  of  the  low 
sales  frequently  made  in  the  London  market  of  raw  silks. 
These,  if  re-reeled,  could  here  be  used  advantageously ;  but 
in  the  original  reels  they  are  entirely  unsuited  to  our  wants. 

During  the  past  two  years,  Bengal  silks  have  sold  at  notably 
low  prices  in  England ;  but  being  in  the  original  reel,  they 
were  unsuited  to  our  operatives,  and  therefore  could  not  be 
used  here.  They  were,  however,  manufactured  into  goods 
in  Europe  and  sent  to  our  market  to  compete  with  our  man- 
ufacturers, whose  goods  were  made  from  a  more  costly  ma- 
terial. Had  we  been  able  to  have  such  raw  silks  re-reeled  in 
Europe,  and  import  them  free  of  duty,  American  manufac- 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA 


167 


turers  could  have  defied  this  competition,  and  found  lucrative 
employment  for  hundreds  of  looms  which  have  either  been 
unprofitable  to  their  owners  or  condemned  to  positive  idle- 
ness, on  account  of  being  debarred  from  the  use  of  these 
cheap  silks  by  this  Treasury  regulation. 


ASIATIC  RAW  SILK  EXPORTS. 

Tabular  statement  of  the  export  of  raw  silk  from  the  various  ports  of 
China  and  Japan,  for  the  seasons  of  1874-75  and  1875-76. 

Shakghae  Silk. 

Shipments  from  Commencement  of  the  Season  to  March  '2,0th, 

Bales. 

1875-76,  to  England   25,596 

*'  France   30,179 

"  America   6,460 

"  Switzerland  and  Italy...  3,356 

"  Hong  Kong  and  Bombay.  1,457 


i»74-75 


67,048 


Bales. 
32,331 
28,734 

3>9ii 

1.744 
2,1 50 

68,870 


Cantons. 

Shipments  from  Commencement  of  the  Season  to  March  zgth. 


Bales. 

1875-76,  to  England   5,516 

"  France   7,4^9 

**  America   2,747 

"  India   5,216 


20,948 


'74-75 


Bales, 
4,994 

.3>320 

2,401 

5,500 

6,215 


Japans. 

Shipments  from  Commencement  of  the  Season  to  April  jth. 

Bales.  Bales. 

1875-76,  to  England.  ..  ,             4,337  1874-75   5>214 

France                      7,142                  "    6,246 

"           America                       88                 "    115 

"           Other  countries..        234                  "    366 


1 1,801 


11,941 


I68  " 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


THROWN  SILKS. 

[Presented  by  Messrs.  Geo.  B.  Skinner  &  Co.] 

Reviewing  the  business  of  1875,  this  branch  of  industry 
appears  to  have  been  very  moderately,  if  at  all,  remunerative. 
As  was  stated  in  last  year's  report  on  Thrown  Silks,  the  Spring 
season  opened  with  a  fair  prospect  for  an  early  brisk  trade 
in  nearly  all  grades,  with  a  market  mostly  bare  of  the  staple 
articles.  Being  thus  encouraged  to  greater  confidence  than 
in  many  previous  months,  all  the  manufacturers  of  these 
goods  increased  their  production.  The  demand  soon  fell 
away,  having  been  largely  based  upon  a  forced  effort  to  start 
the  season's  business :  and  was  followed  by  a  return  to  the 
languid  condition  that  had  preceded  it.  The  market  then 
and  for  some  time  afterward  presented  features  chiefly  advan- 
tageous to  the  buyer ;  the  demand  being  slow  and  fluctuat- 
ing. Lower  prices  were  demanded  and  concessions  obtained 
during  an  earnest  competition  on  the  part  of  sellers.  At  no 
time  was  a  disposition  shown  to  place  orders  in  advance ; 
business  was  down  on  the  "  hand  to  mouth  "  principle  ;  lower 
prices  marked  each  successive  purchase,  until,  as  before 
stated,  this  branch  of  trade  became  almost  unremunerative. 

Although  the  cost  of  labor  and  all  other  expenses  in  throw- 
ing silk  have  risen  forty  to  fifty  per  cent.,  the  prices  obtained 
for  the  goods  have  ranged  fully  five  per  cent,  lower  than  at 
any  time  during  the  last  twenty  years.  This  statement  ap- 
plies to  the  whole  class  of  silks  used  by  the  manufacturers  of 
Trimmings  and  Passementerie. 

Tsatlee  and  Haineen  Tram  and  Organzine,  as  supplied  for 
ribbons  and  piece  goods,  demand  something  more  than  pass- 
ing notice ;  the  adulterations  of  the  raw  silks  should  com- 
mand the  serious  consideration  of  the  Association,  in  the  in- 
terest alike  of  the  throwster  and  of  the  general  public.  The 
reports  from  the  manufacturers  of  Ribbons  and  Fancy  Silk 
goods  will  doubtless  indicate  a  year  of  prosperity,  as  a  fairly 
active  demand  for  Thrown  Silks  has  resulted  from  their 
needs.    The  throwster  might  have  shared  in  this  prosperity, 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


169 


but  for  his  losses  by  adulteration.  We  believe  that  this  dis- 
honest practice  with  raw  silk  is  more  destructive  to  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  the  whole  silk  trade  than  would  be 
an  immediate  reduction  of  the  tariff  on  the  manufactured 
goods.  The  latter  alternative  would  indeed  be  an  advantage, 
as  an  open  warfare  is  less  perilous  than  an  encounter  with  a 
concealed  foe. 

It  has  become  impossible  to  obtain  in  the  American  mar- 
ket a  pure  R.  R.  Tsatlee  raw  silk.  Importers  admit  the  fact, 
and  acknowledge  their  inability  to  correct  the  evil.  Raw 
silk  is  bought  on  the  supposition  that  it  contains  a  certain 
percentage  of  adulteration.  Close  inspection  shows  that  this 
percentage  constantly  varies  in  amount.  The  throwster 
might  be  expected  so  to  adjust  his  scale  of  prices  as  to  allow 
for  the  adulteration  ;  but  this  proves  impracticable,  since  the 
prices  of  raw  silks  are  quoted  by  importers  and  brokers  freely 
to  all  comers,  and  the  manufacturer  is  ready  to  believe  that 
the  throwster  requires  too  wide  a  margin  for  his  share  of  the 
work.  With  the  quoted  price  of  the  raw  silk  in  his  hands, 
the  manufacturer  holds  the  throwster  at  his  mercy ;  on  the 
latter  the  whole  loss  of  adulteration  falls,  and  in  it  he  sinks 
his  profits.  On  the  other  hand,  the  thrown  silk  is  subjected 
to  rigorous  tests — some  of  them  very  unfair — and  even  to  the 
chemical  analysis  of  experts,  as  to  possible  dampness  or 
impurity. 

English  importers  do  not  so  fully  admit  as  do  Americans, 
an  inability  to  check  the  adulteration  or  to  furnish  pure  silk. 
It  may  be  mentioned  that  only  the  re-reeled  silk  is  adulter- 
ated, while  it  is  evident  that  all  grades  might  thus  be  treated 
if  there  were  a  market  for  them  after  being  tampered  with. 
It  is  possible  that  the  Asiatics  are  aware  that  the  London 
importers  have  their  silks  tested  at  a  conditioning  house,  and 
are  also  aware  that  the  Americans  do  not ;  and  hence  take 
advantage  of  our  deficiency.  The  proclamation  of  Taotai, 
though  conceived  with  the  best  of  intentions,  has  entirely 
failed  in  curing  the  evil ;  the  check  upon  it  must  be  brought 
about  in  a  natural  way,  through  the  trade  ;  perhaps  by  means 
of  the  agents  and  representatives  of  our  importers  in  China. 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


If  they  were  clearly  instructed  to  reject  adulterated  silk,  the 
object  might  be  readily  accomplished.  The  method  of  test- 
ing is  simple,  easy,  and  requires  but  little  room  or  machinery. 
There  is  no  more  reason  for  accepting  adulterated  silk  than 
for  taking  counterfeit  or  base  metal  in  trade.  At  present  the 
buyers  of  R.  R.  Tsatlee  raw  silk  need  to  test  separately  every 
shipment  and  each  purchase,  to  learn  the  real  cost  of  their 
goods.  To  relieve  them  from  such  anxiety,  the  Association 
can  do  much,  but  the  importers  still  more.  Some  light  may 
be  thrown  on  the  subject  by  the  Report  on  Raw  Silk." 
With  the  continuance  of  the  fraudulent  system,  a  decline  of 
the  smaller  interests  m  the  silk  industry  is  threatened.  This 
may  result  in  a  concentration  of  capital  and  business  suffi- 
cient to  warrant  direct  miportations  ;  these  alone  offer  at 
present  a  sure  means  of  obtaining  pure  silk. 


SPUN  SILK. 

[Presented  by  Messrs.  Chfney  Brothers.] 

The  general  depression  in  business  during  the  past  year  has 
not  affected  so  severely  the  demand  for  the  cheaper  grades 
of  silk,  v^hich  are  now  among  the  necessaries  of  civilized  life, 
as  that  for  the  more  expensive  kinds,  which  belong  to  the 
luxuries,  only  within  reach  of  a  limited  class  of  consumers. 

Since  spun  silk  comprises  all  yarns  produced  by  carding, 
combing  and  spinning  silks  which  cannot  be  reeled  into  the 
shape  known  as  raw  silk,  the  fabrics  made  of  them  are 
growing  in  favor  for  all  purposes  in  which  weight  and  dura- 
bihty  are  of  more  importance  than  the  high  lustre,  obtained 
at  higher  cost,  in  reeled  silk  goods.  The  low  price  of  raw 
silk  and  the  competition  of  throwsters,  have  reduced  the 
cost  of  thrown  silks  to  a  point  which  they  have  not 
touched  for  many  years,  and  make  them  available  for 
many  purposes  for  which  spun  silks  have  heretofore  been 
almost   exclusively  employed.     But   cheapness  and  good 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


171 


wearing-  qualities  are  more  sought  for  in  hard  times, 
and  spun  yarns  have  entered  into  consumption  quite  as 
largely  as  in  years  more  generally  prosperous.  The  yarns, 
themselves,  it  is  true,  have  as  yet  but  a  very  limited 
outlet  on  the  open  market,  in  this  country,  .and  the  spin- 
ners are  compelled  to  become  weavers  as  well,  and  to 
complete  their  processes  and  turn  out  finished  woven  fabrics. 
This  places  great  restrictions  on  the  rapid  development  of 
silk  spinning,  and  almost  conhnes  the  production  of  yarns  to 
the  manufacturer's  capacity  to  weave  them.  No  doubt,  be- 
fore long,  the  same  subdivision  of  labor  will  take  place  here 
that  is  found  in  the  old  countries,  where  a  high  state  of  per- 
fection is  attained  in  the  different  branches  of  manufacture 
by  having  for  each  the  specialty  of  establishments  devated 
exclusively  to  it.  Here  a  manufacturer  has  to  take  raw  mate- 
rials, and,  with  but  little  outside  aid,  put  them  through 
all  stages  till  they  are  ready  for  market,  and  then  follow 
them  till  they  are  sold,  in  almost  a  retail  way.  This  state  of 
things  necessitates  the  combination  of  many  trades  in  one  es- 
tabhshment,  and  it  is  impossible  to  secure  the  proper  atten- 
tion to  details,  on  which  success  depends,  without  an  exten- 
sive business  organization  and  large  outlay  of  capital. 

The  use  of  what  were  formerly  considered  waste  materials 
is  now  attracting  great  attention,  and  late  discoveries  in  the 
arts  and  sciences  have  changed  the  estimate  once  placed  on 
them,  so  that  some  of  them  are  now  looked  upon  as  articles 
of  primary  rather  than  of  secondary  importance.  In  estimating 
how  much  has  been  accomplished  in  the  manufacture  of  spun 
silk,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  this  branch  of  industry 
utilizes  a  vast  amount  of  raw  material,  which  could  not  be 
used  in  the  old  ways  as  reeled  silk,  but  which  is  now  put  into 
a  shape  in  which,  for  many  purposes,  it  is  of  nearly  equal 
value.  For  this  mainly  is  the  manufacture  now  entitled  to  an 
honorable  place  among  the  productive  industries  of  the  world. 


i 


172 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


SEWING  SILKS  AND  MACHINE  TWIST. 

[Presented  by  Messrs.  Seavey,  Foster  &  Bowman.] 

Having  been  selected  to  report  upon  sewing  silk  and  ma- 
chine twist,  we  have  now  to  offer  the  following  sketch  of 
some  features  of  the  business  ;  not  undertaking  a  complete 
history  of  it,  however  appropriate  such  a  narrative  might  be 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nation's  second  century  of  existence. 

Comparing  the  aggregate  value  of  the  sewing  silk  and  ma- 
chine twist  manufactured  in  the  year  1874  (as  given  in  the  last 
annual  report  of  this  Association),  with  that  of  any  other  class 
of  silk  goods  of  American  production,  it  will  be  found  very 
nearly  double  in  amount.  Comparing  also  the  amount  stated 
as  manufactured  in  the  year  1875  with  that  of  the  two  or  three 
previous  years,  a  very  large  increase  is  apparent  in  this 
branch  of  the  silk  industry.  We  feel  it  to  be  a  cause  for  con- 
gratulation that  this  increase  has  not  been  due  to  any  sudden 
freak  of  fortune,  or  change  of  fashion,  which  is  likely  to  pass 
away  even  more  suddenly  than  it  came,  leaving  manufac- 
turers to  sell  their  goods  below  cost,  or  let  their  machinery 
stand  idle.  It  has  been  caused  by  the  natural  growth  and 
development  of  manufactures,  in  connection  with  the  general 
use  of  sewing-machines  in  the  manufacture  of  boots  and 
shoes  and  clothing,  and  in  the  household  economy  of  nearly 
every  home  in  the  land.  It  is  also  due  to  the  skill  and  energy 
of  American  manufacturers  in  producing  goods  of  such  qual- 
ity and  at  such  prices  as  entirely  to  prevent  the  importation 
of  machine  twists  into  our  markets,  and  very  nearly  stop 
that  of  sewing  silks — an  endeavor  that  would  have  been  en- 
tirely successful,  were  it  not  for  the  old  prejudice  which  yet 
remains  in  a  few  minds  against  silks  of  American  manufac- 
ture. That  in  reality  our  domestic  silks  are  much  better  and 
cheaper  than  imported  goods,  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that 
quite  large  quantities  of  American  machine  twists  and  sew- 
ing silks  annually  find  a  market  in  the  British  North  American 
Provinces.  Yet  there  they  are  compelled  to  pay  a  duty  of 
15  per  cent,  in  gold,  and  the  seller  must  come  into  competi- 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA.  I73 

tion  with  large  English  manufacturers  who  have  held  the 
trade  for  many  years  with  little  fear  that  Yankee  enterprise 
would  ever  be  a  match  for  their  vast  resources  of  wealth  and 
experience.  We  think  that  this  branch  of  the  silk  industry 
has  attained  to  a  standard  of  excellence  in  this  country  equal 
to  that  of  any  other  nation,  and  that  the  coming  Centennial 
Exhibition  will  witness  a  display  in  this  department  never 
excelled.  Nothing  but  adverse  legislation,  or  some  mistaken 
policy  on  the  part  of  manufacturers  themselves,  can  prevent 
it  from  having  a  prosperous  future. 

This  branch  of  trade  has,  it  is  true,  suffered  in  common 
with  almost  every  other  from  the  depressed  condition  of  busi- 
ness, and  from  the  active  competition  of  those  engaged  in  it, 
thus  reducing  the  margin  of  profit  to  a  narrow  limit,  and  de- 
moralizing prices  to  such  an  extent  as  to  cause  some  solici- 
tude among  manufacturers  for  the  future  prosperity  of  the 
business.  Yet  we  trust  that  some  action  may  be  taken  to 
establish  proper  standards  of  lengths  and  sizes,  to  which  all 
engaged  in  the  business  may  conform  ;  and  then  by  concerted 
and  harmonious  action,  protect  the  public  as  well  as  them- 
selves. 

PLAIN  AND  FANCY  BROAD  SILKS. 

[Presented  by  Messrs.  Hamil  &  Booth.] 
The  year  1875  has  been  a  prosperous  one  for  the  silk  manu- 
facture, and  the  broad  silk  weavers  have  been  favored  with  a 
good  demand  for  their  goods. 

They  have  added  largely  to  the  number  of  looms  employed, 
and  have  also  made  goods  not  before  attempted  in  this  coun- 
try. While  the  older  manufacturers  have  increased  their 
capacity  to  produce,  several  new  firms  have  been  organized, 
and  manufacturers  not  heretofore  engaged  in  weaving  have 
turned  their  attention  in  that  direction.  With  the  increase  in 
looms,  greater  competition  and  enlarged  experience,  we  have 
had  the  usual  result  of  lower  prices  ;  but  the  knowledge  gained 
in  the  last  five  years  should  be  sufficient  to  enable  the  trade  to 
make  goods  at  such  prices  as  the  market  can  pay.    The  home 


174 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


manufacturer,  notwithstanding  the  tariff,  has  many  difficulties 
to  meet ;  he  is  confined  entirely  to  our  own  market,  where  every 
buyer  wisnes  to  buy  the  same  article  at  the  same  time.  If  he 
has  Avise  foresight,  or  a  lucky  inspiration,  so  that  he  gets  his 
goods  started  a  little  ahead  of  the  demand,  he  is  successful ; 
but  if  he  changes  his  machinery  and  organization  after  the 
demand  begins,  he  has  always  the  possibility  of  a  heavy  loss, 
from  a  sudden  change  in  the  demand,  or  an  over-production 
of  the  article,  because  all  the  manufacturers  make  the  same 
thing.  The  importance  of  making  a  greater  variety  of  fabrics, 
and  those  most  stable  in  demand,  must  impress  itself  on  our 
manufacturers.  It  is  evident  that  a  uniform  and  stable  trade  is 
more  profitable,  at  a  smaller  percentage,  than  one  which  re- 
quires constant  changes  in  styles  and  organization.  The  last 
3^ear  was  satisfactory  in  the  fancy  silk  trade,  and  goods  for 
ties,  scarfs,  millinery,  trimmings,  etc.,  were  in  demand  till 
late  in  the  year.  In  October,  and  the  remaining  months,  b}^ 
an  unexpected  stagnation,  large  quantities  of  goods  which 
had  been  made  were  not  called  for ;  on  these  goods  large  con- 
cessions had  to  be  made,  and  prices  lower  than  cost  accepted. 
This  dullness  has  continued  to  the  present  time,  and  unless  a 
change  occurs,  our  report  for  1876  cannot  be  so  favorable. 
Silk  handkerchiefs  were  called  for  late  in  the  Summer  at  satis- 
factory prices,  but  a  falling  off  in  the  demand,  and  an  appa- 
rent over-production,  started  somewhat  of  a  panic  among  the 
holders  and  manufacturers,  which  brought  prices  down  below 
cost. 

Styles  and  quality  of  goods  produced  show  a  steady  im- 
provement, and  our  designs  are  artistic  and  more  favorably 
received  in  this  market  than  the  imported. 

The  manufacture  of  the  finer  qualities  of  dress  goods  is  gra- 
dually increasing,  and  promises  to  be  successful,  so  that  we 
may  expect  to  produce  goods  to  rival  those  of  the  celebrated 
European  makers.  The  Centennial  Exhibition,  soon  to  open, 
will  undoubtedly  astonish  the  country  in  the  display  of  home 
productions  in  silk  goods  ;  and  the  quantity  of  goods,  the 
quality  and  designs,  and  the  perfection  of  manufacture  and 
coloring,  will  be  surprising  to  most  of  the  visitors. 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


RIBBONS. 

[Presented  by  Mr.  Wm.  Strance.] 

It  seems  to  me  a  subject  for  congratulation  and  pride,  not 
only  to  those  directly  interested,  but  also  to  the  community 
at  large,  that,  while  nearly  all  the  various  industries  of  the 
country  have  been  forced  into  inactivity  and  distress  since 
the  panic  of  1873,  during  the  past  year  our  branch  has  formed, 
in  many  respects,  an  exception  to  the  general  rule. 

Since  the  date  of  our  last  annual  report,  and  vmtil  Octo- 
ber, 1875,  the  ribbon  trade  found  occupation  for  its  factories, 
steady  employment  for  a  largely  increased  number  of 
operatives,  and  an  outlet  for  a  much  greater  amount  of  home 
production  than  in  any  former  year  ;  and  although  the  de- 
mand has  been  for  specialties,  which  had  to  be  manufactured, 
(thus  precluding,  in  a  great  measure,  sales  from  stocks  accu- 
mulated during  the  preceding  seasons  of  unprofitable  specu- 
lation) the  result,  if  not  satisfactory  in  a  pecuniary  point  of 
view,  has  been  gratifying,  inasmuch  as  it  has  prevented  a 
further  accumulation,  and  furnished  the  means  of  comfort 
and  sustenance  to  8, 000  operatives  in  Paterson  alone,  where, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  more  thriving  state  of  our  industry, 
great  distress  must  inevitably  have  prevailed  among  the 
poorer  operatives,  many  of  whom,  having  been  deprived  of 
employment,  were  dependent  upon  the  wages  earned  by  their 
children  in  the  silk  mills  for  the  support  of  their  families. 
Nearly  $2,500,000  has  been  paid  to  the  operatives  of 
Paterson  by  their  employers,  for  labor  performed  during  the 
past  year.  Our  foundries,  machine  shops,  wood  turners  and 
box  makers  have,  in  a  great  measure,  been  kept  busily  em- 
ployed with  orders  from  our  factories,  and  this  has  furnished 
an  additional  outlet  for  the  distribution  of  capital  and  em- 
ployment of  labor.  I  say,  therefore,  that  the  bare  accomplish- 
ment of  such  results  is  of  itself  sufficient  cause  for  thankful- 
ness on  our  part ;  but  when,  in  addition  thereto,  we  can  as- 
sert, with  verity,  that  all  this  has  been  effected  by  means  of 


i;6 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


capital  drawn  from  the  wealthy,  who  could  afford  to  pay 
for  luxuries,  and  without  the  imposition  of  direct  or  indirect 
taxation  to  the  amount  of  one  dollar  upon  the  less  fortunate 
classes,  so  many  of  whom  have  received  benefit  therefrom, 
I  think  our  claims  for  appreciation  from  the  people  of 
America  are  fully  sustained. 

Apologizing  for  this  slight  digression  from  the  matter  un- 
der consideration,  I  will  now  return  to  the  main  subject. 

As  previously  intimated,  the  expectations  of  improvement 
in  the  ribbon  trade,  which  were  foreshadowed  in  our  last 
report,  have  been  fulfilled. 

Early  in  the  month  of  March,  1875,  ^  growing  demand  for 
light  and  medium  blues,  pink,  lavender,  lilacs,  ecru,  paille,  seal 
brown,  drab,  cerise  and  scarlet,  in  widths  varying  from  Nos^ 
4  to  12,  and  7  and  8  inch  sashes,  began  to  be  manifest,  and 
continued  through  the  month  of  April. 

In  May,  sales  increased  with  higher  prices,  adding  cream 
to  the  shades  in  demand,  and  Nos.  20  and  30  to  the  widths  in 
vogue. 

The  prevailing  colors  in  June  were  cardinal,  seal  brown, 
and  light  blues ;  during  this  month  the  demand  for  Nos.  20 
and  30  fell  off  perceptibly,  and  Nos.  7,  9  and  12  became  the 
fashionable  widths. 

In  July  the  sales  were  comparatively  small,  but  satisfactory, 
considering  the  advanced  state  of  the  season ;  marine  blue 
was  added  to  the  shades  previously  in  demand,  the  widths 
remaining  the  same  as  in  the  preceding  month. 

August  and  September  gave  promise  of  bright  prospects 
for  the  Fall  trade  ;  new  shades  in  myrtle,  green,  prone,  ma- 
rine, and  seal  brown,  were  put  upon  the  market,  and  found  a 
ready  sale  at  sustained  prices  ;  but  a  material  decline  became 
perceptible  in  October,  when  7  and  8  inch  sashes,  which  had 
until  then,  been  in  brisk  demand,  became  unsaleable,  even  at 
reduced  figures ;  and  from  thenceforth,  up  to  the  first  of  Feb- 
ruary 1876,  general  stagnation  prevailed. 

In  February  and  until  the  middle  of  March  the  manufac- 
turers who  needed  an  outlet  for  accumulated  stock  attempted 
to  compete  among  themselves.  This  as  a  natural  consequence 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AxMERICA. 


177 


had  the  effect  of  reducing  prices  and  inciting  speculation  on 
the  part  of  buyers.  Increased  sales  at  a  great  sacrifice  to  the 
producer  were  thus  effected  ;  but  a  diminished  demand,  want 
of  confidence  in  the  maintenance  of  prices,  and  the  forcing  of 
goods  upon  a  market  already  amply  supplied,  soon  produced 
the  inevitable  results — creating  a  demoralization  in  the  trade, 
which  from  present  prospects,  bids  fair  to  continue  for  some 
time  to  come. 

But  the  past,  and  not  the  future,  is  my  theme ;  and,  on  be- 
half of  our  branch  of  the  silk  industry,  I  am  pleased  to 
be  able  to  report  an  increase  of  at  least  fifty  per  cent,  in 
production  and  consumption  over  any  previous  year,  with  a 
corresponding  decline  in  imports,  which  have  been  reduced 
from  one-half  to  a  little  over  one-third  of  the  requirements  of 
our  home  market. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  features  which  I  have 
to  present  for  your  consideration  as  an  indication  of  real  de- 
velopment. As  a  mark  of  progress  in  perfection  of  fabrics,  I 
would  mention  that,  in  view  of  a  prospective  demand  for  fancy 
or  jacqiiard  work,  most  of  our  manufacturers  have  prepared 
themselves  to  meet  the  requirements  of  changing  fashion,  and 
are  even  now  successfully  competing,  both  in  quality  and 
price,  with  that  class  of  foreign  production.  Although  these 
rapid  advances  have  been  in  a  measure  due  to  the  pro- 
tection which  the  American  people  have  granted  us  in  a 
high  tariff,  still  it  must  not  be  surmised  that  the  country  has 
not  reaped  a  proportionate '  share  of  the  benefits  which  have 
been  bestowed  ;  for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  while 
the  home  manufacturers  are  speedily  and  surely  assuming  a 
position  which  will  in  the  future  dely  foreign  competition,  the 
people  on  the  other  hand,  as  consumers  of  our  productions, 
by  fostering  a  home  competition,  are  just  as  indisputably 
reapmg  benefit,  through  a  cheaper  market  under  the  high 
protective  tariff  of  60  per  cent.,  than  in  1862,  '3  and  4,  when 
the  duty  was  only  40  per  cent. ;  thus  showing  that  the 
burden  is  not  borne  by  the  people,  as  many  suppose. 

A  retrospect  of  the  past  year's  transactions  in  our  branch 
of  the  industry  although,  as  shown,  comparatively  satisfactory 


178 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


in  the  aggregate,  reveals,  nevertheless,  many  stumbling  blocks 
which  we  have  had  to  overcome ;  not  the  least  of  these 
have  been  undervaluation  of  imports  ;  imperfect  reeling  and 
adulteration  of  China  raws ;  and  decline  of  value  in,  and  loss  of 
interest  on,  accumulations  of  stock  from  previous  disastrous 
seasons,  the  last-named  evil  having  been  a  serious  impediment 
to  our  still  greater  progress. 

Little  do  the  working  classes  realize,  when  clamoring  for 
higher  wages  at  the  first  indication  of  returning  prosperity, 
to  what  extent  they  have  been  indebted  for  employment  in 
bad  times,  to  the  losses  voluntarily  incurred  by  the  manufac- 
turers, in  order  to  keep  them  together  so  as  to  be  ready  to 
start  when  prices  revive.  They  do  not  recognize  the  laws 
of  trade,  when  brought  to  bear  upon  their  labor ;  but  seem  to 
be  impressed  with  the  idea  that  their  employers  are  in  duty 
bound  to  accede  to  their  demands,  however  unjust.  In  the 
endeavor  by  means  of  strikes  and  combinations,  to  force 
employers  into  acquiescence,  workmen  meet  with  varying 
success ;  but  the  practice  is  suicidal  to  both  parties,  for  if  the 
manufacturer  is  deprived  of  an  opportunity  to  recover  from 
the  losses  which  his  sacrifices  have  entailed,  he  must  eventually 
succumb  to  the  force  of  circumstances,  and  the  working  class 
must  lose  an  opportunity  for  labor. 

In  conclusion,  allow  me  to  remark  that,  although  the  sta- 
bility of  the  ribbon  manufacture  is  undoubted,  its  immediate 
future  as  an  important  branch  of  American  industry,  is  a  mat- 
ter for  serious  consideration ;  and  it  behooves  each  and  every 
person  engaged  in  it  to  act  with  extreme  caution.  Demand 
and  supply  must,  as  ever,  regulate  our  operations.  An  over- 
stocked market,  unproductive  capital,  labor  strikes,  and  un- 
fair cgmpetition,  are  fraught  with  evils  which  only  our  com- 
bined efforts  and  sound  judgment  can  avert.  Let  us,  then, 
discard  all  petty  jealousies  and  selfish  purposes  in  this 
supreme  moment  of  peril ;  for  in  union  we  will  find  strength 
which  may  enable  us  to  overcome  and  conquer  all  our  diffi- 
culties, and  consolidate  our  position  against  foreign  competi- 
tion. 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


179 


THE  TRIMMING  TRADE. 

[Presented  by  Messrs.  Wm.  H.  Horstmann  &  Sons.] 

Laces,  braids,  and  dress  trimming-s  form  an  important  com- 
ponent of  the  silk  industry  of  this  country,  and  Avell  deserve 
a  separate  sketch,  in  view  of  the  advances  that  have  been 
made  in  this  branch  of  the  manufacture,  and  the  number  of 
persons  interested  in  it  or  dependent  upon  it  for  support. 
Nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  the  Committee  on  Exhibi- 
tion of  the  Franklin  Institute  found  occasion  in  their  report 
to  express  their  pleased  surprise  that  the  productions  of 
American  looms  would  bear  full  comparison  with  those  of 
Lyons  or  St.  Etienne.  After  referring  to  the  fact  that  this 
commendation  could  be  justly  applied  not  only  as  to  bril- 
liancy of  color  and  weight  of  material,  but  also  in  respect  to 
evenness  of  manufacture,  the  Committee  say,  This  intro- 
duces a  neiv  era  in  American  industry y 

The  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled.  It  was  suggested  in  that 
report  that  fostering  this  branch  of  industry  might  help  to 
distribute  at  home,  the  millions  of  dollars  then  going  abroad 
for  a  species  of  merchandise  that  is  required  only  by  taste 
and  fashion.  The  tables  of  imports  show  that  this  result  has 
been  achieved.  The  statistics  of  the  silk  industry  show  it 
yet  more  conclusively.  The  2,753  operatives — of  whom  more 
than  three-fifths  were  women — employed  in  this  country  in 
1875  in  making  laces,  braids  and  trimmings,  are  living  wit- 
nesses to  the  fact. 

Results  like  these  are  not  achieved  by  accident.  Money 
alone  will  not  produce  them.  Governments  may  foster  but 
cannot  force  them  ;  they  must  come  from  steady,  patient, 
hopeful,  honest  effort — the  whole-souled  endeavor  to  produce 
good  work.  The  details  of  the  experience  of  the  firms  and 
manufacturing  corporations — nearly  one  hundred — that  have 
engaged  in  this  branch  of  the  business,  need  not  be  given 
here.  It  would  be  a  varied  record,  in  which  the  periods  of 
struggle  and  adversity  are  longer  than  those  of  ease  and 


i8o 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


afHiience  ;  but  the  lesson  is  everywhere  the  same — persever- 
ance in  well-doing-  brings  its  reward. 

Even  the  past  year,  though  one  of  peculiar  hardship  in 
many  branches  of  business,  has  not  been  in  this  department 
wanting  in  pleasant  features.  The  dress  trimming  trade  has, 
in  general,  been  quite  satisfactory.  The  home  manufacturers 
supply  the  demand,  so  that  now  there  are  very  few  colored 
dress  and  cloak  trimmings  imported.  The  variety  of  patterns 
for  sale  at  the  trimming  stores  is  so  great  that  ladies  find  no 
difficulty  in  perfectly  matching  the  colors  of  their  dresses. 
While  thus  meeting  all  the  requirements  of  taste,  the  Ameri- 
can fringes  and  trimmings  are  in  general  of  the  best  material. 
Being  made  of  pure  silk,  they  will  usually  outlast  the  garment 
they  ornament.  They  contrast  in  this  respect  with  imported 
goods  of  similar  appearance,  but  made  from  inferior  silk  and 
hence  apt  to  fade  by  exposure,  or  wear  out  and  fall  off. 
Greater  care  in  the  processes  by  which  they  are  made  has 
also  contributed  to  the  notable  superiority  of  American  trim- 
mings. The  use  of  fringes  for  trimming  dresses  has  given 
great  encouragement  to  our  manufacturers.  These  fringes 
are  made  of  silk  thread  and  of  silk  tape  ;  they  are  wide,  and 
are  used  in  such  profusion  that  the  fronts  of  dresses  are  liter- 
ally covered  with  them:  except,  however,  as  to  the  higher 
priced  silk  fringes,  there  has  been,  probably,  less  business 
done  in  them  this  year  than  last. 

In  very  fme  goods,  such  as  fringes  and  marabout  trim- 
ming, much  progress  has  been  made.  The  manufacturers 
who  have  made  these  a  specialty  deserve  marked  credit  for 
the  taste  and  ingenuity  which  their  new  styles  display.  They 
have  been  rewarded  by  an  appreciation  on  the  part  of  the 
public,  silk  marabout  being  very  largely  worn  ;  it  is  made  in 
a  variety  of  styles,  and  is  composed  of  silk  loops  and  silk  tape 
arranged  to  be  worn  as  braids,  though  much  more  elaborate. 
On  the  whole,  the  result  in  this  department  speaks  well  for 
our  domestic  manufacture  in  a  year  when  no  importations  of 
dress  trimmings  have  proved  profitable.  The  domestic  silk 
and  worsted  fringes,  as  well  as  those  which  are  all  worsted, 
have  counterbalanced  by  their  ready  sale  any  falling  oflf  in 


SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


I8l 


silk  fringes.  Mixtures  of  silk  with  silk  crimped  braids  have 
produced  styles  much  in  demand,  and  although  higher  in 
price  than  the  imported  articles,  have  proved  more  saleable, 
being  preferred  on  account  of  superior  crimping  and  better 
quality. 

The  demand  for  guipure  laces  has  somewhat  fallen  off 
during  the  past  year,  the  preference  of  style  being  more  in 
favor  of  ecru  laces.  A  considerable  trade  has  been  created 
in  supplying  the  home  demand  for  lace  scarfs  and  neckties  for 
ladies'  wear. 

In  narrow  textile  fabrics  such  as  star  and  embroidery  braids, 
chenilles,  bindings,  cords,  &c.,  the  trade  has  been  as  good  as 
in  average  years,  and  there  is  no  special  progress  to  report. 

For  upholsterers',  shade  and  blind,  and  undertakers'  trim- 
mings, there  has  been  the  usual  demand,  though  resulting  in 
smaller  profits  to  the  manufacturer.  The  result  of  low  prices 
in  these  goods  has  been  to  induce  the  manufacture — apparent- 
ly— of  the  poorest  articles  that  will  sell  at  all.  This  is,  of 
course,  a  grave  and  unfortunate  mistake,  since  the  goods  must 
fail  to  give  satisfaction  and  hence  will  lose  their  market.  The 
production  of  the  best  possible  goods,  even  though  at  the 
closest  margin  of  profit,  proves  far  more  remunerative  than 
any  other  plan,  since  it  holds  the  fashion  longer  and  the 
market  permanently. 

There  has  been  only  a  very  limited  demand  for  carriage 
laces  and  trimmings ;  but  this  is  a  branch  of  the  business 
that  must  revive  with  the  return  of  a  general  prosperity. 


U.  S.  CUSTOMS  TARIFF. 
We  consider  it  a  favorable  circumstance  to  the  manufac- 
turing interests  oi  the  country  that  the  free  trade  party  in  the 
National  Congress  decided  to  present,  at  this  first  session, 
their  measure  for  a  general  reduction  of  import  duties,  rather 
than  defer  it  till  the  long  session  next  winter.  This  course 
— because  of  the  unlikelihood  of  the  bill  obtaining  the  assent 
of  the  Senate  even  should  it  pass  the  House — insures  for 


4 


1 82  FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 

the  measure  an  amount  of  deliberation,  inquiry,  and  thought- 
ful discussion  which  tariff  alterations  in  former  years  in  this 
country  have,  in  most  instances,  unfortunately  failed  to  obtain. 

The  delicately  adjusted  relations  of  the  present  tariff,  with 
regard  to  the  National  revenues,  to  foreign  commerce  and  to 
internal  development,  have  been  the  work  of  years  to  attain — 
years  of  dihgent  inquiry  into  the  principles  which  ought  to 
govern  an  American  system  in  this  respect,  and  of  exhausting 
labor  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  sought  to  shape  the 
policy  of  their  country  in  conformity  to  those  underlying 
principles. 

The  opinion  is  entertained  by  many  that  its  several  parts 
are  not  adjusted  with  the  desired  nicety  to  cause  all  interests 
alike  to  share  in  the  burdens  of  taxation  ;  but  the  questions 
involved  in  readjustment  are  of  the  highest  order  of  import- 
ance, and  require  that  sufficient  time  be  given  for  a  thorough 
investigation  of  the  subject  before  any  action  shall  be  taken. 
The  evils  of  hasty  legislation  have  seldom  been  more  strik- 
ingly illustrated  than  in  the  history  of  changes  in  the  tariff. 

But  haste  is  not  the  only  danger  to  which  tariff  legislation 
is  exposed.  Congressmen  err  more  frequently  through  a 
want  of  knowledge  of  the  practical  bearings  of  their  work 
than  from  any  deliberate  intent.  They  are  mostly  lawyers 
by  profession,  and  their  notions  of  the  interests  of  trade  are 
not  derived  from  personal  and  intimate  knowledge  of  the  un- 
derlying facts.  Ignorance  has  been  called  the  parent  of  vice  ; 
it  has,  more  frequently  than  malice,  given  birth  to  vicious 
laws. 

The  approaching  Centennial  Exhibition  will  afford  our 
legislators,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  our  countrymen,  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  for  themselves  just  what  the  tariff  laws  have 
accomplished  for  this  country  in  respect  to  manufactures. 

As  regards  the  silk  duties,  while  they  are  confessedly  a 
tax  on  luxuries  for  the  support  of  Government,  we  point  with 
satisfaction  to  the  fact  that  the  prices  of  silk  goods  in  our  mar- 
kets are  lower  to-day  than  they  have  been  for  fifteen  years ; 
lower,  even,  than  they  were  under  a  tariff  of  24  to  30  per 
cent,  before  the  war,    Competition  among  home  manufac- 


SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


183 


turers,  aided  by  a  full  supply  of  raw  Asiatic  silks,  has  largely 
brought  about  this  state  of  things.  It  supplies  a  conclusive 
answer  to  those  who  have  alleged  that  a  sixty  per  cent,  duty 
on  silk  would  make  the  prices  of  silks  higher  than  if,  by  a  low 
rate  of  duty,  the  control  of  the  market  were  surrendered  to 
the  foreign  manufacturer.  In  point  of  fact,  the  consumer  of 
silk  goods  in  America  has  been  largely  benefitted,  both  as  to 
quality  of  goods  and  in  the  price  at  which  he  can  obtain 
them,  by  the  protective  policy.  The  present  price  of  raw 
silk  being  now  equivalent  to  that  which  prevailed  prior  to  the 
increase  of  duties,  we  are  enabled  to  meet,  with  the  test  of 
actual  experience,  those  who  have  charged  the  American 
silk  manufacturer  with  adding  the  rate  of  duty  to  the  asking 
price  abroad  for  similar  goods.  In  the  words  of  one  of  our 
own  manufacturers,  as  expressed  at  our  last  meeting,  Con- 
sumers can  ask  for  no  better  free  trade  than  plenty  of  home 
competition."  Considered  merely  from  the  point  of  view  of 
revenue,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  the  proposed  reduction 
of  tariff  would  sufficiently  affect  the  cost  of  importation  to 
increase  the  quantity  imported.  The  silk  market  is  now  so 
ovcrGtocked  with  goods,  both  foreign  and  domestic,  that  for- 
eign silks  are  seeking  purchasers  at  prices  little  above  the 
rate  of  duty  which  the  Government  is  supposed  to  have  re- 
ceived from  them. 


CUSTOMS  REVENUE  AT  NEW  YORK. 

Since  our  last  report  an  important  change  has  taken  place 
in  the  Custom  House  management  at  this  port.  Appraiser 
Darling  having  resigned,  the  Hon.  Stephen  R.  French  has 
been  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Mr.  French  is  an  ex-mem- 
ber of  Congress,  as  well  as  a  business  man  of  many  years'  expe- 
rience, and  has  filled  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility.  He 
commences  his  career  under  more  favorable  auspices  than 
most  of  his  predecessors  have  done,  Mr.  Darhng  havmg  suc- 
ceeded in  introducing  many  administrative  reforms  in  the 
Appraiser's  Department  of  this  port,  especially  during  the 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


past  year,  while  seeking-  to  make  his  department  a  model  of 
efficiency  in  carrymg  out  the  revenue  laws. 

The  new  regulations  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  for 
the  control  of  the  Inspectors  of  the  Port  of  New  York,  have 
been  in  operation  for  some  months.  The  effect  of  these  regu- 
lations has  been  practically  to  diminish  smuggling  by  passen- 
gers on  steamship  lines.  What  was  once  an  every-day  event 
has  become  a  story  of  the  past.  People  do  not  buy  abroad  ex- 
pensive silk  dresses  for  themselves  and  friends  with  the  hope 
of  evading  duties.  The  officers  have  become  more  careful, 
and  few  passengers  will  take  the  chances  of  escaping  detec- 
tion. Probably  the  best  evidence  of  this  change  is  shown  by 
the  conduct  of  men  who  formerly  sought  the  duty  of  examin- 
ing baggage.  Instead  of  being  a  favorite  pursuit,  it  is  re- 
garded as  onerous  and  burdensome.  This  is  a  good  sign. 
No  more  trunks  filled  with  silks  now  arrive  weekly,  as  in  the 
old  time  when  regular  officers  regularly  met  and  "  passed  " 
the  so-called  baggage  without  fear  of  consequences.  Already 
the  principal  dry  goods  merchants  on  Broadway  have  expe- 
rienced a  decided  improvement  in  their  sales  of  the  classes  of 
goods  that  used  to  be  brought  to  this  port  as  passengers'  bag- 
gage. The  following  observation,  made  by  one  who  has  full 
opportunity  for  knowing  the  facts,  covers  the  point.  He  says : 
'*  Without  doubt  genteel  smuggling  has  ceased  during  the  past 
year."  Collector  Arthur  has  weeded  out  many  incompetent 
and  unfaithful  officers,  and  is  still  striving  to  render  more 
competent  the  force  that  is  intrusted  with  the  serious  duty  of 
inspecting  merchandise  imported  from  foreign  shores.  The 
Government  has  not  taken  proper  measures  to  assist  the  Col- 
lector in  this  important  work.  A  deduction  has  been  made 
in  the  scanty  wages  of  these  men,  and  the  anomaly  is  pre- 
sented of  an  employer  expecting  increased  faithfulness  while 
reducing  the  pay  of  employes.  Under  the  present  rate  of 
three  dollars  and  sixty  cents  per  day,  recently  reduced  from 
four  dollars,  discharging  officers  think  they  cannot  live  with- 
out accepting  fees  and  presents,  although  the  practice  is 
expressly  forbidden  by  the  law.  This  is  a  very  unfortunate 
condition  of  affairs,  as  we  all  know  how  great  are  the  tempta- 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


i85 


tions  surrounding  officers  entrusted  with  the  enforcement  of 
the  revenue  laws. 

In  a  district  of  over  sixty  miles,  where  these  men  are  com- 
pelled, at  their  own  expense,  to  visit  ships  and  discharge  car- 
goes, often  purchasing  their  meals  while  so  employed,  it  is 
unwise  and  unjust  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  confine 
them  to  inadequate  salaries,  while  exposing  them  to  the 
temptation  of  the  gratuities  which  shipowners  and  import- 
ers are  ever  ready  to  offer.  No  one  who  has  personal  knowl- 
edge of  the  qualities  required  in  the  men  placed  in  charge  of 
ships  and  steamers  constantly  arriving  from  foreign  countries, 
will  doubt  the  wisdom  and  fairness  of  properly  remunerating 
this  very  important  body  of  officials.  On  a  steamship-wharf, 
by  means  of  steam-power,  hundreds  of  tons  of  valuable  mer- 
chandise are  landed  in  the  space  of  twenty-four  hours — the 
officers  remaining  on  duty  constantly  day  and  night  until  the 
vessel  is  discharged.  Now,  if  the  intelhgent  observer  will 
notice  how  closely  the  regulations  must  be  carried  out  to 
avoid  confusion  and  fraud,  and  how  many  cargoes  are  daily 
landed  without  loss  to  the  Government  or  the  merchant,  it 
will  be  readily  seen  that  judgment  and  ability  of  no  common 
order  must  be  the  qualifications  of  the  men  selected  to  per- 
form the  most  arduous  of  all  duties  connected  with  the  col- 
lection of  the  revenue.  Recognizing  the  fact  that  these  officers 
cannot  support  families  on  their  limited  pay,  heads  of  de- 
partments have  winked  at  a  practice  "  more  honored  in  the 
breach  than  in  the  observance."  It  is  that  of  steamship  com- 
panies allowing  certain  fees  to  officers  detailed  to  discharge 
a  ship.  Strictly,  and  in  law,  this  is  all  wrong,  and  the  prac- 
tice has  been  from  time  to  time  forbidden  ;  but  so  long  as  men 
are  inadequately  paid,  they  appear  to  consider  it  fair  to  es- 
cape starvation  by  accepting  presents. 

In  our  previous  report  we  spoke  of  the  difficulty  of  detec- 
tion and  prevention  of  smuggling  under  the  present  system. 
Although  great  improvements  have  been  made,  perfect  suc- 
cess is  far  distant.  So  long  as  passengers  are  landed  at  many 
different  wharves  badly  lighted  and  but  poorly  protected 
from  the  weather,  just  so  long  will  the  law  be  carelessly  car- 


i86 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


ried  out.  There  are  numerous  instances  where  officers  are 
sent  at  night-fall  to  steamer  wharves  to  examine  baggage  of 
passengers  very  anxious  to  get  home.  The  steamship  com- 
panies having  no  interest  in  the  collection  of  revenue  fcr  the 
Treasury  of  the  Government,  do  not  half  light  the  immense 
sheds  where  trunks  and  boxes  are  scattered  promiscuously. 
Often  boxes  of  monstrous  size  are  brought  from  Europe  by 
passengers  who  claim  to  have  used  household  effects  while 
residing  abroad.  These  cases  the  officer  cannot  properly  in- 
spect on  the  wharf.  Even  under  the  best  circumstances,  and 
with  the  assistance  of  experienced  men  to  unpack,  the  labor 
would  be  extremely  difficult ;  but  on  a  crowded  wharf,  with  a 
single  cooper  to  assist  the  officer,  who  is  frequently  cold  or  hun- 
gry or  desirous  of  getting  away  from  unpleasant  surroundings, 
the  proper  enforcement  of  the  customs  regulation  is  next  to 
impossible.  Should  the  Government  provide  a  suitable  place 
for  the  landing  of  passengers  and  the  storing  and  examination 
of  baggage,  many  thousands  of  dollars  nov/  lost  would  be  col- 
lected annually.  Without  reflecting  on  the  heads  of  depart- 
ments who  have  long  recognized  the  crying  evil,  or  on  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  who  has  no  means  at  his  disposal 
to  erect  a  barge  office  at  the  Battery  where  baggage  can  be 
brought  and  thoroughly  examined  by  officers  detailed  specially 
lor  this  service,  the  matter  is  worthy  of  notice  by  Congress 
at  this  time,  since  that  body  alone  has  the  power  to  make  ap- 
propriation for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings.  This 
change  has  often  been  recommended ;  it  was  never  more 
needed  than  at  present. 

Special  agents  from  Washington,  unacquainted  with  the  prac- 
tical workings  of  the  revenue  law,  may  find  fault  with  individ- 
ual officers  and  complain  of  the  demoralization  recognized  by 
all  intelligent  members  of  the  outside  force  of  the  Custom 
House.  It  is  not  to  be  rectified  by  fault-findingy  but  must  be 
met  squarely  and  reformed  fairly.  Weighers'  assistants  have 
the  handling  of  many  millions  of  goods  during  the  year  ;  and 
the  unscrupulous  importer  knows  well  how  poor  their  pay 
and  how  uncertain  their  compensation.  Of  course  temptations 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


187 


surround  these  men.  They  should  be  placed  above  the  ne- 
cessity of  accepting  presents. 

So  with  the  force  employed  in  the  inspection  of  goods  on 
the  docks.  When  we  think  of  the  opportunities  for  dishonest 
gains  which  are  offered  to  these  men,  it  is  surprising  that 
the  Government  is  defrauded  so  httle.  The  remedy  is  to 
give  them  a  fair  compensation  in  proportion  to  the  duties 
performed.  As  it  is  now,  the  District  Officer,  who  simply 
reports  the  arrival  of  vessels,  is  paid  as  much  as  the  men 
who  discharge  cargoes.  This  is  evidently  unfair,  and  leads 
to  much  ill-feeling  and  consequent  neglect  of  duty.  In  prac- 
tical execution  of  the  revenue  laws,  no  posts  are  more  respon- 
sible than  those  of  the  officers  who  discharge  vessels.  The 
men  should  be  selected  for  this  most  important  duty  only 
with  regard  to  capacity  and  character,  and  not  with  reference 
to  party  service.  So  long  as  party-claims  influence  the  selec- 
tion of  men  to  fill  places  in  the  civil  service  of  the  co^mtry, 
just  so  long  will  the  revenues  fail  to  be  collected,  and  the 
burden  of  taxation  be  carried  by  the  honest  and  truthful 
merchant. 

The  business  men  of  the  country  must  continue  to  recom- 
mend reforms  in  the  administration  of  the  Government.  Poli- 
ticians must  not  control,  since  already  the  burdens  of  taxation 
are  heavily  felt  by  the  citizens.  Statesmen  are  needed  to 
rule  the  country,  who  will  alter  the  laws  only  to  suit  the 
necessities  of  our  ever-growing  Republic.  The  time  is  at  hand 
when  these  reforms  must  be  initiated,  and  none  have  a  better 
right  to  advise  and  recommend  them  than  the  merchants  of 
our  great  commercial  metropolis. 

Nor  need  the  frequent  exposures  of  the  present  day  lead 
hasty  observers  to  despair  of  the  virtue  of  the  Republic.  We 
are  not,  as  a  nation,  more  corrupt  than  formerly  ;  we  are,  in 
fact,  more  honest.  The  evidence  of  honesty  is  to  be  found  in 
the  vigor  with  which  the  work  of  unearthing  fraud  and  break- 
ing up  systems  of  corruption  has  been  prosecuted.  Time  was 
when  the  doctrine  "  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils  "  was 
subscribed  to  by  both  political  parties  ;  now  each  is  striving  to 
prove  itself  foremost  in  the  work  of  reform.    It  is  one  of  the 


i88 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


best  signs  of  the  centennial  year  that  politicians  are  basing 
their  calculations  and  framing  their  plans  with  a  view  to  put- 
ting forward  men  of  acknowledged  integrity  ;  and  that  none 
who  have  been  tainted  with  the  suspicion  of  corruption,  or 
have  even  winked  at  it  among  their  subordinates,  have  the 
slightest  prospect  of  the  suffrages  of  the  people. 


CHARTER  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION. 

The  suggestion  offered  at  the  last  Annual  Meeting  to 
incorporate  the  Association,  has  resulted  in  its  formal  orga- 
nization, under  the  general  law  of  the  State  of  New  York.  In 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Statute,  five  citizens  of 
this  State,  members  of  the  Association,  filed  a  certificate  of 
incorporation  on  April  nth,  1876,  and  the  Silk  Association 
of  America  has  now  acquired  a  legal,  and,  we  may  hope,  a 
permanent  status. 

Following  is  a  statement  of  the  general  laws  under  which 
the  Association  is  incorporated. 

CHAPTER  EIGHTEEN,  TITLE   SEVEN  OF  THE  REVISED 

STATUTES. 

SOCIETY— HOW  FORMED— CERTIFICATE  OF  NAME  AND  BUSINESS  OF 

SOCIETY. 

Sec.  1.  Any  five  or  more  persons  of  full  age,  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  a  majority  of  whom  shall  be  citizens  of  this  State,  who  shall  desire  to 
associate  themselves  together  for  literary,  scientific  purposes,  &c.,  may  make 
and  acknowledge  a  certificate  in  writing  in  which  shall  be  stated  the  title 
of  the  Society,  its  business  and  objects,  the  number  of  trustees,  directors 
or  managers  for  the  first  year  of  its  existence  ;  which  certificate  shall  be 
approved  in  writing  by  a  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  District 
where  the  principal  office  of  the  society  shall  be  located. 

WHEN  TO  BECOME  A  BODY  CORPORATE  AND  POLITIC. 
Sec.  2.  Upon  filing  such  certificate  the  persons  who  shall  have  signed 
and  acknowledged  the  same,  and  their  associates  and  successors,  shall 
thereupon  be  a  body  politic  and  corporate,  shall  be  capable  of  sueing  and 
being  sued,  may  have  a  common  seal,  shall  alter  the  same  at  pleasure, 
shall  be  capable  of  receiving,  purchasing  and  holding  real  estate  for 
the  purposes  of  their  incorporation,  and  for  no  other  purpose,  to  an  amount 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


not  exceeding  Fifty  Thousand  Dollars  in  value,  and  personal  property 
for  like  purposes  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  Seventy-five  Thousand  Dol- 
lars in  value;  but  the  clear  annual  income  of  such  real  and  personal 
estate  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  Ten  Thousand  Dollars  per  annum. 
To  make  laws  for  the  management  of  its  affairs.  To  elect  and  appoint 
the  officers  and  agents  of  the  society  for  the  management  of  its  business, 
and  to  allow  them  a  suitable  compensation. 

ELECTION  OF  TRUSTEES. 
Sec.  3.  The  Society  may  annually  elect  from  its  members  its  trustees, 
directors  or  managers,  at  such  time  and  place  as  are  specified  by  its  by-laws, 
who  shall  have  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  the  society,  a  majority  of 
whom  shall  be  a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business,  if  not  otherwise 
provided  by  the  by-laws,  except  that  no  purchase,  sale  or  lease  of  real 
estate  shall  be  made,  unless  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  are  present  at 
the  meeting  at  which  it  is  ordered. 

VACANCIES. 

When  any  vacancy  shall  happen  among  such  trustees,  directors  or 
managers,  such  vacancy  shall  be  filled  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  provided 
by  the  by-laws  of  such  society. 

PROTISION  IN  CASE  NO  ELECTION  IS  MADE. 
Sec.  4    In  case  it  shall  at  any  time  happen  that  an  election  shall  not 
be  made  on  the  day  designated  by  the  by-laws,  it  shall  be  lawful  to  hold 
an  election  on  any  other  day  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  directed  by  the 
by-laws  of  such  society, 

RESTRICTION. 

Sec.  5.  The  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  not  extend  or  apply  to  any 
association  or  individuals  who  shall  in  the  certificate  filed  use  a  name  or 
style  the  same  as  that  of  any  previously  existing  incorporated  society  in 
this  State. 

REAL  OR  PERSONAL  PROPERTY  MAY  BE  HELD. 
Sec.  6.  Any  corporation  formed  under  this  Act  shall  be  capable  of  tak- 
ing, holding  or  receiving  any  property,  real  or  personal,  by  virtue  of  any 
devise  or  bequest,  contained  in  any  last  will  of  any  person  whomsoever, 
the  clear  annual  income  of  which  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  ten  thou- 
sand dollars. 

PROVISO. 

Provided  no  person  leaving  a  wife,  or  child,  or  parent,  shall  devise  to 
such  corporation  more  than  one  fourth  of  his  or  her  estate,  after  the  payment 
of  his  or  her  debts,  such  devise  shall  be  valid  to  the  extent  of  one  fourth; 
and  no  such  devise  shall  be  valid  in  any  will,  which  shall  not  have  been 
made  and  executed  at  least  two  months  before  the  death  of  the  testator. 


1 90 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


LIABILITY  OF  TRUSTEES. 
Sec.  7.  The  trustees  of  any  corporation  organized  under  the  provisions 
of  this  Act,  present  at  any  meeting  authorizing  the  contraction  of  any  debt, 
and  acquiescing  in  the  passage  of  any  resolution  or  order  authorizing  the 
same,  shall  be  jointly  and  severally  liable  for  any  such  debt,  provided  a  suit 
for  the  collection  of  the  same  shall  be  brought  within  one  year  after  the 
debt  shall  become  due  and  payable. 

SOCIETY  TO  BE  SUBJECT  TO  VISITATION  BY  JUSTICES  OF  THE 
SUPREME  COURT. 

Sec.  8.  Shall  be  subject  to  visitation  and  inspection  of  books  and 
vouchers  by  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  or  by  persons  who  shall  be 
appointed  by  the  Supreme  Court  for  that  purpose. 

CERTIFICATES  TO  BE  FILED  IN  THE  MONTH  OF  DECEMBER  IN 
EACH  YEAR. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Trustees,  or  a  majority  of  them,  in  the 
month  of  December  in  each  year,  to  make  and  file  in  the  County  Clerk's 
office,  where  the  original  certificate  is  filed,  a  certificate  under  their  hands, 
stating  the  names  of  the  Trustees  and  officers  of  such  corporation,  with  an 
inventory  of  the  property,  effects,  and  liabilities  thereof,  with  an  affidavit 
of  the  truth  of  such  certificate  and  inventory,  and  also  an  affidavit  that 
such  corporation  has  not  been  engaged  directly  or  indirectly  in  any  other 
business  than  such  as  is  set  forth  in  the  original  certificate  on  file. 

GENERAL  POWERS. 
Sec.  9.  Every  corporation  formed  under  the  provisions  of  this  Act 
shall  possess  the  powers,  and  be  subject  to  the  provisions  and  restrictions 
contamed  in  the  third  title  of  the  eighteenth  chapter  of  the  first  part  of 
the  Revised  Statutes. 

RIGHT  TO  REPEAL. 
Sec.  10.  The  Legislature  may  at  any  time  amend,  annul,  or  repeal  any 
incorporation  formed  or  created  under  this  Act. 

PRIVILEGES. 

Sec.  11.  Trustees,  Directors,  or  Stockholders  of  such  corporation, 
may,  by  conforming  to  the  1st  Section  of  this  Act,  re-incorporate  them- 
selves, or  continue  their  existing  corporate  powers  for  the  period  limited 
by  the  Act,  and  all  property  and  effects  of  such  existing  corporation  shall 
vest  in,  and  belong  to,  the  corporation  so  re-incorporated  or  continued. 

SUPREME  COURT  TO  HAVE  POWER  TO  MAKE  ORDERS  FOR 
MORTGAGING  REAL  ESTATE. 

Sec.  12.  The  Supreme  Court  shall  have  power  in  case  it  shall  deem  it 
proper  on  application  of  corporation  to  make  order  for  the  mortgaging  of 
any  real  estate  belonging  to  the  corporation,  etc. 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


By  the  death  of  our  President,  Ward  Cheney,  which  oc- 
curred on  the  22d  of  March,  the  Association  has  lost  a  warm 
friend  and  earnest  supporter.  The  following  resolutions, 
adopted  by  the  members  at  a  meeting-  held  on  the  day  suc- 
ceeding his  death,  are  expressive  of  the  feelings  evoked  by  this 
event.  It  has  also  touched  the  chord  of  feeling  in  a  wider  cir- 
cle of  human  hearts.  Rarely,  indeed,  does  it  happen  that  a 
private  citizen  not  prominent  in  the  walks  of  literature,  sci- 
ence, or  art,  wins  so  largely  from  his  fellow-men  the  tribute 
of  a  warm  personal  regard,  ripening  on  closer  acquaintance 
into  esteem  and  love.  There  is  a  certain  amount  of  admira- 
tion, not  always  unmixed  with  envy,  that  is  usually  accorded 
to  mere  pecuniary  success ;  and  within  limited  degrees  the 
world  is  apt  to  honor  the  favorites  of  fortune.  But  the  affec- 
tion with  which  his  friends  regarded  Ward  Cheney  was  of  a 
different  nature  ;  it  was  based  upon  what  he  was,  not  what  he 
had.  He  labored  for  others'  welfare  as  well  as  for  his  own ; 
and  as  he  loved  others,  was  himself  beloved. 

Mr.  Cheney's  connection  with  the  Association  began  with 
its  organization  in  June,  1872,  when  he  became  its  first  Vice- 
President.  On  the  retirement  of  our  first  President,  Mr. 
John  Ryle,  in  May,  1873,  Mr.  Cheney  was  elected  in  his  place, 
and  was  re-elected  to  the  Presidency  in  1874  and  1875.  Your 
Secretary  has  lost  much  more  than  a  respected  chief — a  dear 
and  warm-hearted  friend.  The  sense  of  security  was  attached 
to  all  enterprises  with  which  Ward  Cheney's  name  was  identi- 
fied. He  gave  an  incentive  and  stimulus  to  higher  aims  and 
better  development  in  the  work  of  the  Association,  and  his- 
connection  brought  the  assurance  that  what  of  advancement 
had  been  gamed  could  not  be  lost.   He  was  ever  in  sympathy 


192 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


With  plans  to  give  our  Association  a  permanent  character. 
The  silk  trade  of  America  has  mdeed  sustained  a  heavy  loss 
in  the  decease  of  so  eminent  a  representative. 
The  resolutions  were  as  follows: 

TFhereas,  In  the  ordering  of  Providence  our  dear  friend  and  most 
worthy  President,  Ward  Cheney,  has  been  taken  from  us  ;  and 

JVhereaSy  Mr.  Cheney  was  a  man  of  unspotted  reputation,  true  and 
just  in  all  his  dealings,  kind  and  genial  in  all  his  intercourse,  ripe  and  ma- 
ture in  his  judgment,  and  in  every  way  well  deserving  and  well  befitting 
the  proud  position  he  occupied  in  the  silk  trade  and  in  this  Association ; 
therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  unfeignedly  mourn  the  loss  of  Ward  Cheney, 
and  deeply  sympathize  with  his  family  in  their  great  bereavement ;  that 
we  hold  up  for  imitation  his  character,  his  integrity  and  his  enterprise ; 
that  we  are  proud  of  his  name  and  will  keep  his  memory  green  whilst  the 
silk  trade  shall  last;  that  as  a  mark  of  affectionate  respect  a  committee  of 
this  Association  shall  be  delegated  to  attend  the  funeral  of  Mr.  Cheney; 
and  that  a  copy  of  this  preamble  and  resolution  be  engrossed  and  framed 
for  presentation  as  a  memento  to  Mr.  Cheney's  family. 

The  following  members  represented  the  Association  in  the 
funeral  services  at  South  Manchester. 

THOMAS  N.  DALE,  1st  Vice-President. 

Geo.  B.  Skinner,  J.  H.  Hayden, 

B.  Richardson,  Ira  Dimock, 

John  T.  Walker,  Tobias  Kohn, 

Rowland  Johnson,  Franklin  Allen, 

T.  To^JITA,  Vice-Consul  Secretary, 
of  Japan,  at  New  York. 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


FINANCES. 

The  revenues  of  the  Association  have  not  been  as  great  in 
the  past  year  as  in  the  year  preceding.  In  most  other  de- 
partments of  industry,  and  especiahy  our  own,  reduced  reve- 
nue has  been  accompanied  by  a  demand  for  a  more  economi- 
cal administration.  The  sources  of  receipts  and  the  items  of 
disbursements  are  as  follows : 

FOURTH  ANNUAL  VOLUNTARY  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 

Cheney  Bros.,              -        -        -        -        -  ^800  00 

Wm.  H.  Horstmann  &  Sons,           -        -  -    400  00 

Nonotuck  Silk  Co.,      -----  ^00  00 

William  Ryle,        -  300  00 

Wm.  Strange  &  Co.,  -----  300  co 
Jno.  N.  Stearns  &  Co.,     -----     ^qo  00 

A.  A.  Low  &  Bros.  -----  300  00 
Belding  Bros.  &  Co.,  -  -  _  -  _  200  00 
Dexter,  Lambert  &  Co.,  _  -  -  _  200  00 
Wm.  H.  Fogg  &  Co.,      -        _        -        -  200  00 

B.  B.  Tilt  &  Son,       -       -       -        -        -  180  00 

Dale  Manufacturing  Co.,         -        -        -  -  15000 

A.  Soleliac  Sc  Son        -        -        -        -        -  10000 

The  Singer  Manufacturing  Co.,         _        _  _     100  co 

Werner  Itschner  &  Co.,       -        -        .        _  100  00 

Jno.  T.  Walker,      -        -        -        _    ■     -  -     100  00 

J.  Silbermann  &  Co.,  -        -        -        -        -  100  00 

Wood,  Payson  &  Colgate,        -        -        -  -     100  00 

Wm.  H.  Smith  &  Son,         -        -        -        -  100  00 

Tetsnoske  Tomita,  Vice-Consul  of  Japan  at  N.  Y.,  100  00 

Cary  &;  Co.,  -        -        -        -        -        -  -       75  00 

A.  G.  Jennings,  -        -        -        -        -        r  7  ^  00 

Aub,  Hackenburg  &  Co.,         -        -        -  -       50  00 

Louis  Franke,      -        -        -        -        -        -  50  00 

S.  M.  Meyenberg,  -        -        -        -        -  -       50  00 

$4,730  00 

Annual  dues  of  members,  ^25.00  each,  -  1,450  00 
II  Initiation  fees,  new  members,  $25.00  each,  -  275  00 
Sundry  receipts,         -        -        -        -        -  ^9 


194 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


Making  the  total  sum  for  the  year. 
Which  added  to  the  balance  on  hand 
at  the  last  annual  meeting,  say 

presents  a  total  of    -        -        -        -       -        18,936  88 
less  $450.00  in  suspense  account,  voluntary  subscriptions 
remaining  unpaid  to  the  Treasurer  at  this  date. 
To  the  debit  of  the  account  we  have  $7,422.25  of  dis- 
bursements classified  under  the  following  heads  : 


Office  Rent, 

$350  00 

"    Furniture,      _        _        _        -  - 

126  85 

Newspaper  Subscription  Account, 

Subscriptions  and  Purchases,     -      $145  69 

Society  of  Arts,  London,    -        -       1 2  04 

157  73 

Library  Expenses,  Sundry  Books, 

71  65 

Stationery  and  Printing,           _        _        _  _ 

1,471  04 

Postage  and  Expressage,      _        _        _  - 

367  44 

Telegram  Account,        _        _  _ 

13  92 

Coal  and  Gas  Bills,     _        _        _        -  - 

28  24 

Incidental  Expenses,        _        _        _        -  _ 

113  34 

Office  Expenses,          _        _        _        _  _ 

65  16 

Petty  Cash  Expenses,       _        _        _        _  - 

75  42 

Traveling  Expenses,  Secretary,      -        -  - 

82  70 

Raw  Silk  Manifests,  New  York  and  San  Francisco, 

222  76 

Office  Clerks,  _____ 

1,276  00 

Franklin  Allen,  Secretary,     _        -        _  _ 

3,000  00 

i 

^7,422  25 

leaving-  a  balance  in  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer  at  date,  of 
$1,064.63.  [N.  B.  The  balance  on  hand  at  the  last  annual 
meeting"  was  $2,429.59]. 


AMENDMENT  TO  BY-LAWS. 

On  the  25th  of  February,  the  following  amendment  to  the 
By-laws  of  the  Association  was  adopted,  notice  of  the  pro- 
posed change  having  been  presented  in  writing  at  the  meet- 
ing of  February  9th : 

Provided,  that  in  the  year  1876  the  annual  meeting  for  the  election  of 
officers  to  serve  in  the  year  ensuing  and  for  receiving  the  report  of  the 


$6,507  29 
2,429  59 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA, 


Board  of  Government  may  be  held  on  the  last  Wednesday  of  April,  at 
such  place  as  the  Board  of  Government  may  appoint,  instead  and  in  lieu 
of  the  second  Wednesday  of  May  as  provided  for  in  sections  1  and  2  of 
article  V  of  the  by-laws :  the  said  change  being  deemed  advisable  in 
consequence  of  the  said  second  Wednesday  of  May,  1876,  having  been 
designated  by  the  United  States  Centennial  Commission  for  the  opening 
and  inauguration  services  of  the  International  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia. 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  CENTENNIAL. 

The  question  as  to  the  best  action  of  the  Association  in 
reference  to  having  the  silk  industry  fully  represented  at  the 
Centennial  Exhibition,  was  referred  by  the  Board  of  Gov- 
ernment to  a  Committee  selected  therefor.  The  Committee 
reported  that  after  due  effort  had  been  made  in  calling-  the 
attention  of  manufacturers  to  the  subject,  the  projected  plan 
of  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Association  had  not  been  encour- 
aged. The  Committee  therefore  recommended  that  the 
matter  be  left  to  individual  effort  and  enterprise.  A  circular 
was  sent  to  each  silk  manufacturer  and  maker  of  silk  ma- 
chinery, stating  the  foregoing  facts  and  suggesting  the  steps 
needful  to  insure  a  good  display,  as  well  as  urging  the  import- 
ance of  promptness  in  making  them.  The  matter  being  thus 
relegated  to  individual  manufacturers,  a  considerable  number 
of  prominent  firms  have  undertaken  the  work  with  spirit, 
and  there  will  be,  as  a  result,  a  creditable  display  made  of 
the  advances  of  the  silk  industry.  * 

In  last  3^ear's  report  the  hope  was  expressed  that  a  descrip- 
tive pamphlet  might  be  prepared  for  circulation  at  Philadel- 
phia, giving  an  account  of  the  origin,  growth  and  success  of 
the  silk  industry  in  this  country.  It  was  proposed  to  make 
this  pamphlet  of  a  popular  character,  and  to  have  it  sold  at  a 
nominal  price  to  the  visitors  at  the  Exhibition.  The  sum  of 
money  necessary  for  the  preparation  of  the  pamphlet  was 
subscribed  by  the  manufacturers;  permission  for  its  'Sale 
during  the  Exhibition  was  obtained  from  Director  General 
Goshorn ;  and  the  writing  of  the  pamphlet  was  entrusted  to 


r 


196 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT, 


a  gentleman  well  versed  in  the  subject,  and  of  repute  in 
literature.  The  "  History  of  Silk  Industry  in  America,"  thus 
prepared,  will  prove  entertaining  in  itself,  while  it  must  serve 
to  enlighten  the  public  upon  the  advances  that  have  been 
made  by  American  skill,  ingenuity,  and  persevering  effort. 

Respectfully  submitted, 


Franklin  Allen, 
New  York,  April  26,  1876,  Secretary. 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


197 


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FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


Imports,  Re-Exports  and  net  dutiable  Imports  of  Raw  Silk, 
with  rates  oi  duty  and  estimated  amount  of  duty  from 
1823  to  1842  inclusive. 


Fiscal 
Years 
ended 
Sept.  30. 

Imports  of 

Raw  Silk 

Re-Exports 

of 

Raw  Silk 

Net 
Imports. 

Rate  of 
Duty. 

Amount  of 

Duty 
(Estimated  ) 

1023 

$4,673 

H673 

T  C</ 

$701 

1824 

1,254 

1.254 

188 

1825 

8,090 

8,090 

1,214 

1826 

192,496 

192,496 

28,874 

1827 

135,230 

135,230 

20,285 

1828 

608,738 

$560,129 

48,609 

7,291 

1829 

101,796 

35,967 

65,829 

9,874 

1530 

119,074 

108,975 

10,099 

1,515 

I03I 

134,376 

88,557 

*45,8i9 

1532 

48,938 

48,800 

138 

T  Q  <^  -% 

135,348 

66,456 

68,892 

8,612 

1^34 

139,256 

78,706 

^60,550 

1835 

10,715 

4,"4 

6,601 

825 

1836 

37,507 

37,507 

4,688 

1837 

211,694 

118,434 

93  260 

(( 

11,657 

1838 

79,251 

29,938 

^■49,313 

<( 

1839 

39,258 

4,682 

34,576 

4,322 

1840 

234,235 

200,239 

33  996 

4,250 

1841 

254,102 

227,113 

26,989 

(< 

3,374 

1842 

33,002 

420 

32,582 

20^ 

6,516 

^  Via  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
But-eau  of  Statistics,  Washington,  D.  C, 
May  20th,  1876. 

(Signed) 


EDWARD  YOUNG, 

Chief  of  Bureau 


Statistics  of  production  of  raw  silk  m  the  United  States  at 
irregular  periods. 

Year.  Value. 

1821   $171,000 

1834   450,800 

1835   290,000 

1840   250,000 

1843   1,400,000 

1850   54,215 

i860   47,000 

1870   90,000 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


Imports,  Re-Exports  and  net  dutiable  Imports  of  Raw  Silk, 
with  rates  of  duty,  and  estimated  amount  of  duty,  from 
1843  to  1875,  inclusive. 


Imports  of  Raw  Silk 


Free  of  Duty,    j       Dutiable.  j 


$1,300,065 
1,330,890 
1,235,976 
1,41  1,416 
413,972 
897,661 
1,932,766 
1,040,809 

3,437,900 
2,469,001 
2,520,404 
3,318,496 
3.017,958 
5,739,592 
5,625,620 
6,460,  621 
3,854,008 
4,504  306 


$53,350 
172,953 
208,454 
216,647 
161,624 
340,769 
366,238 
386,281 
448,  198 
360,836 
712,092 
I  085,261 
742,251 
991,234 

^953,734 
''^■242,1 30 

.88,267 
^104,700 

^^67,378 

*75.554 
*  1 20,807 
•'^125,198 
*i  5  3,061 


j  Re-Exports 

!  of 

Raw  Silk. 


$3,353 
7,102 
4,362 
23,999 
42,251 
19,858 

55,515 
63.026 

43,856 

7,143 
282 
2,956 
63,279 
4.255 
4,163 
94,092 
19,978 
177,881 
124,104 
21,412 
14  1  12 
31,501 
480,193 
198.429 
26,276 
245,657 
57,031 
43,031 
189,783 
133  370 
45.892 
29,065 
32,910 


Net  i  Rate  of 
Imports.     j  Duty. 


$49,997 
165,851 
204,092 
192,648 

ii9»373 
320,911 
310,723 
323,255 
404,342 

353,693 
711,810 
1,082, 305 
678,972 
986.979 

949.571 
1,448,103 

1,599,179 
1,162,795 

1,354,690 
468,1 14 
1 ,004, 356 
2,026,463 
713,677 
3,239,471 
2  442,725 
2  274,747 
3,261,465 

2  974,927 
5,549,809 
5.492,250 
6,414,729 

3  824.943 
4,471,396 


50c.  per  lb, 


Free. 


*  Via  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  paying  10  per  cent.  duty. 

Bureau  of  Statistics,  Washington,  D.  C, 
May  20th,  1876. 

Signed, 


EDWARD  YOUNG, 

Chief  of  Bureau. 


Export  of  American  Manufactured  Silks,  chiefly  Sewing'-Siik 
and  Machine  Twist,  in  the  years  1870-75. 

Year.  Value. 

1870  $11,648 

1871   27,580 

1872   62,521 

1873   65,560 

1874   40,878 

1875..,,,,,,,,,   71,534 


200 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


•qio£  'idas  papua 


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THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


201 


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-  -------- 


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oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 


202 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


STATEMENT  OF  THE  RATES  OF  DUTY  ON  SILK  IMPORTS,  RAW  SILK 

AND  MANUFACTURES  OF  SILK, 
Since  the  organization  of  the  United  States  Government  under  the  Federal  Constitution, 

in  the  Year  1789. 

Compiled  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Silk  Association  of  America  from  the  Special  Report  of 
1874,  on  the  Customs  Tariff  Legislation  of  the  United  States,  by  Dr.  Edward  Young, 
chief  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Statistics  at  Washington. 

The  first  tariff  Act,  July  4,  1789,  was  the  second  act  of  any  kind  passed  after  the  organ- 
ization of  the  United  States  Government  under  the  Federal  Constitution.  The  follow- 
ing is  its  preamble,  in  the  first  section  :  "  Whereas^  it  is  necessary  for  the  support  of 
Go-vernment^for  the  discharge  of  the  debts  of  the  United  States,  and  the  encouragement  and 
the  protection  of  manufactures,  that  duties  be  laid  on  goods,  ivares,  and  merchandises  im- 
ported, ^c." 

BY  THE   TARIFF   ACTS  OF 
Aug,    10,  1790,  Silk  manufactures  paid  7^  per  cent,  ad  valorem  rate  of  duty. 
May      2,  I79^>        "         "  "  10 

March  3,  1797,        "        "  "  12^ 

"     i6,  1804,  "  "  15 

July      1,1812,  "  "    30        ^'  "      [War  with  Great  Britain.] 

May  22,  1824,*      "        "  "    20    From  beyond  Cape  of  Good  Hope  25  per  cent. 

"     19,  1828,        "        "  "    20  "  "  "  "     30  «' 

Sectional  excitement,  the  South  against  the  North,  was  the  cause  of  a 
general  reduction  of  duties  in  1832.    By  Act 
July  14,  1832,  Duty  on  Silk  manufactures  from  this  side  of  Cape  of  Good 

Hope,  was  reduced  to   5  per  cent. 

From  beyond  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  to   10  " 

"  "  A  duty  of  40  per  cent,  was  levied  upon  sewing-silk,  and 
124-  per  cent,  on  raw  silk. 
March  2,  1833,  Mr.  Clay's  Compromise  Act  Jibolished  the  duties  on'] 
"Manufactures  of  silk,  or  of  which  silk  shall  be  the 
component  material  of  chief  value,  coming  from  this  side 
of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  except  sewing-silk."  Raw 
silk  remained  at  12^  per  cent.  The  act  fui  ther  provided 
for  a  reduction  every  two  years,  on  the  ist  January  1836, 
1838  and  1840  respectively,  of  one-tenth  part  of  the  ex-  )^  10  percent, 
cess  cf  duty  over  20  per  cent.,  on  a//  foreign  imports}  a  | 
reduction  on  the  ist  January,  1842,  of  one-half  the  re-  I 
mainder  of  such  excess,  and  from  and  after  the  31st  of  | 
December,  1842,  the  residue  of  such  excess  to  be  de- 
ducted.   All  but  the  latter  provision  was  enforced,  the  rate 

on  sewing  silk  being  reduced  to  26  per  cent  J 

Sept.  II,  1 841,  Silk  manufactures  and  raw  silk,  whether  from  beyond  or  I  20  per  cent 
from  this  side  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  were  advanced  to 

■A^"g-        1842,1  Silk  manufactures  paid  30  per  cent.  n.  o.  p.  f.J  $^-50  per  lb. 

July  30,  1846,^  "  "  "     30      "         n.  o.  p.  f.   25  per  cent. 

March  3,  1857,  II  "  "  «     24      "         n.  o.  p.  f.   19  " 

March  2,1861,    "  "  "     30      "         n.  o.  p.  f.   30 

Aug.   5,  1861,    "  "  "     40      "         n.  o.  p.  f.   40  " 

June  30,  1864,    "  *'  60      "         n.  o.  p.  f.   50  " 

Feb.  8,   1875,       silk  goods  contain- ~) 
ing  over  75  per  cent,  in  | 

value  of  silk,  irrespect-  V   60      "         n.  o.  p.  f.   50  " 

ive  of  commercial  des-  ( 
ignation  j 

*  It  appears  that  raw  silk  was  subject  to  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  i?  per  cent.,  under  tmenumer at ed  arti- 
cles by  the  Tariff"  Act  of  April  27,  1816,  which  imposed  a  duty  of  i  5  per  cent.  "  on  all  articles  not  free, 
and  not  subject  to  any  other  rate  of  duty."  The  first  revenue  actually  received  by  the  Government  from 
raw  silk  is  stated  by  Dr  Young  to  have  been  in  1823.  The  duty  on  raw  silk  continued  at  15  per  cent, 
until  it  was  reduced  to  izi  per  cent,  by  the  Act  of  July  14,  1832. 

t  By  Act  of  Aug.  jo,  1842,  a  duty  of  50  cents  per  pound  of  16  oz.  was  levied  on  Raw  Silk,  compre- 
hending all  silks  in  the  gum,  tvhether  in  hanks,  reeled,  or  otherwise. 

X  Not  otherwise  provided  for.    Silk  chief  value. 

§  Raw  silk  again  subject  to  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  15  per  cent,  by  Act  of  July  30,  1846. 
II       "      made  free  by  Act  of  March  3,  1857. 


THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


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FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


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THE  SILK  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICA. 


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206 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  REPORT. 


PRODUCTION  OF  SPUN  SILK  IN  EUROPE,  1873. 

Statistics  of  the  Production  of  Spun  Silk,  from  silk  waste,  pierced  and 
imperfect  cocoons,  Arrindy  cocoons,^"  &c.,  &c.,  in  the  European 
States,  in  the  years  1872  and  1873. 


Countries  in  which  the  Spun  Silk 
was  produced. 

Amount  produced  in 
1872. 

Amount  produced  in 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

1,980,000 

1,540,000 

1,980,000 

2,000,000 

1,800,000 

1,760,000 

1,1  00,000 

1,144,000 

330,000 

330,000 

33,000 

33,000 

7,223,000 

6,807,000 

M.  Rondot,  in  his  report,  states  that  France,  in  addition  to  her  own  pro- 
duction of  these  spun  silks,  imports  annually  about  470,000  kilogrammes 
=  1,038,700  pounds,  from  Switzerland,  England  and  Austria;  about 
three-fifths  of  the  amount  being  furnished  by  Switzerland.  He  states, 
moreover,  that  owing  to  the  reduction  in  the  price  of  silk  and  the  decline 
in  the  use  of  passementerie,  the  Quantity  of  spun  silk  produced  would  be 
much  less  in  1874  and  1875. 

PRODUCTION  OF  RAW  SILK  THROUGHOUT  THE  WORLD. 

The  following  statement  is  believed  to  be  a  tolerably  near  approxima- 
tion to  the  yearly  production  of  raw  silk  in  the  several  silk-producing 
countries  of  the  world  at  the  present  time  : 


.    China  and  Chinese  Empire   $92,928,000 

Japan   19,800,000 

Persia,  Turkistan,  &c   6,250,000 

Syria  and  Asia  Minor   8,500,000 

Italy   59,250,000 

France   31,246,800 

Turkey  in  Europe   7,920,000 

Spain  and  Portugal   1,884,000 

Greece   1,087,000 

Morocco   300,000 

Auscria-Hungary   3,087,600 

India   35,200,000 

America   100,000 


8267,553,400   

*  The  Arrindy  cocoons  are  those  made  by  the  Bombyx  cynthia  which  feeds  on  the 
leaves  of  the  Castor  Oil  Plant  {Ricinus  communis.) 


ANNUAL  SUMMARY  OF  SILK  IMPORTS, 

IN    THE    CALENDAR  YEARS 
1851    TO  1875, 
BOTH  INCLUSIVE-.. 


ANNUAL    SUMMARY    OF    SILK  IMPORTS. 

RAW    SILK    AT    NEW    YORK    A  IIP    s  A^I    FRANCISCO    IN    THE    CALENDAR  YEARS, 


ANNUAL  SUMMARY  OF  SILK  IMPORTS, 

(  Raw  Sn.K  AM.  MANLtACTl'RtS  OF  SiLK,) 

I  N     T  HE     I-"  I  S  C  A  I,  EARS 
.852   TO  1875, 


ANNUAL    SUMMARY    OF    SILK  IMPORTS. 

IMPORTS    OF    RAW    SILK    AT    NEW    YORK    AND    SAN    FRANCISCO.    IN    THE    FISCAL    YEARS    ENDED    JUNE    3  0th. 


j|        l8Sa       jl        IMS        j         IMl        1  IMK 

1890        1  IBUr 

-  1 

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IMPORTS    OF    MAl.'UFACTURES    OF    SILK    AT    THE    PORT    OF    NEW    YORK,    IN    THE    FISCAL    YEARS    ENDED    JUNE  30th. 


..... 

18U 

186S 

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1874        1  1873 

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THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IX  AMERICA. 


211 


AMERICAN  SILK  MANUFACTURERS  AT  THE  CEN- 
TENNIAL INTERNATIONAL  EXHIBITION, 

PHILADELPHIA,  1876. 
Compiled  from  the  Official  Catalogue  of  the  U.  S.  Centennial  Commission. 

MAIN  EXHIBITION  BUILDING. 
DEPARTMENT  1 1.— MANUFACTURES 

CLASSIFICATION. 

Silk  and  Silk  Fabrics,  and  Mixtures  in  %vhic/i  Silk  is  the  predominating  Material. 

CLASS  242. — Cocoons  and  raw  silk  as  reeled  from  the  cocoon  ;  thrown 

or  twisted  silks  in  the  gum. 
CLASS  24.3. — Thrown  or  twisted  silks,  boiled  off  or  dyed,  in  hanks, 

skeins,  or  on  spools. 
CLASS  244. — Spun  silk  yarns  and  fabrics,  and  the  materials  from  which 

they  are  made. 

CLASS  245. — Plain  woven  silks,  lutestrings,  sarsnets,  satins,  serges, 
foulards,  tissues  for  hat  and  millinery  purposes,  etc. 

CLASS  246. — Figured  silk  piece  goods,  woven  or  printed.  Upholstery 
silks,  etc. 

CLASS  247. — Crapes,  velvets,  gauzes,  cravats,  handkerchiefs,  hosiery, 
knit  goods,  laces,  scarfs,  ties,  veils,  all  descriptions  of  cut 
and  made  up  silks. 

CLASS  248. — Ribbons,  plain,  fancy,  and  velvet. 

CLASS  249. — Bindings,  braids,  cords,  galloons,  ladies'  dress  trimmings, 
upholsterers',  tailors',  military,  and  miscellaneous  trim- 
mings. 

The  exhibit  is  situated  at  the  eastern  entrance  of  the  Main  Exhibition 
Building,  occupying  a  space  117  feet  along  the  central  avenue  or  nave. 

The  location  of  objects  is  shown  by  a  letter  and  figure  indicating  the 
nearest  column  of  the  building.  The  column  H  is  the  eighth  range  of 
columns  proceeding  southward  from  the  northern  wall  of  the  building; 
the  columns  being  lettered  consecutively  from  A  to  U.  The  easternmost 
column  of  the  building  is  79.  The  American  Silk  Department  is  located 
between  columns  77—73,  and  along  column  H. 

The  Class  of  the  classification  to  which  each  exhibit  belongs  is  indicated 
by  the  figures  at  the  end  of  the  line. 

EXHIBITORS. 
Stearns,  Jno.  N.,  &  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y.    H  77. 


Brocade  Silks   246 

Silk  Handkerchiefs   247 

Dexter,  Lambert  &  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y.    H  73. 

Silk  Piece  Goods   245 

Ribbons   248 

Dress  Trimmings  ,   249 


212 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Hamil  &  Booth,  Paterson,  N.  J.     H  76. 

Raw  and  Thrown  Silks   242 

Dress  Goods,  Tie  Silks   245 

Ties.   247 

Ribbons  ,  .  .  .  .  248 

Baare,  Fred.,  Paterson,  N.  J.     H  77. 

Millinery,  Tie  and  Umbrella  Silks   244 

Strange,  Wm.,  &  Co.,  Paterson,  N.  J.    H  73. 

Millinery  and  Dress  Silks   245 

Ribbons   248 

Cheney  Brothers,  Hartford  and  South  Manchester,  Conn.     H  75. 

Twist   243 

Spun  Silks  and  Spun  Silk  Fabrics   244 

Dress  Goods,  Serges,  Florentines  and  Foulards   245. 

Organzine,  Tram  and  Handkerchiefs   247 

Ribbons   248 

Dale  Manufacturing  Co.,  Paterson,  N.  J.     H  75. 

Silk,  Mohair  and  Fancy  Trimming  Braids;  Cords,  Bindings, 
Hat  Bands,  Braided  Sewings  and  Watch  Guards   249 

Meyenberg,  S.  M.,  Paterson,  N.  J.     H  74. 

Silks,  Upholstery  Satins   246 

Ladies'  Silk  Scarfs,  Sewing-Silk  Veils   247 

Itschner,  Werner,  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.     H  74. 

Silk  Ribbon  Fabrics   243 

Franke,  Louis,  New  York,  N.  Y.     H  74. 

Thrown  Silk   242 

Silk  Fringes,  Passementerie,  Braids,  Cords,  Tassels   249 

Nottingham  Lace  Works,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.    H  75. 

Guipure,  Thread,  Cashmere  and  other  Laces  and  Trim- 
mings;  Hair  Nets  -   249 

KoHN,  Tobias,  Novelty  Weaving  and  Braiding  Works.     H  76. 

Hartford,  Conn.  Star  and  Embroidery  Braids   249 

Horstmann,  W.  H.,  &  Sons,  Philadelphia,  Pa.     H  73. 

Yarns.   238 

Ribbons   248 

Bindings,  Braids,  Cords,  Galloons,  Ladies'  Dress  Trim- 
mings, Upholstery  ;  Tailors',  Military  and  Miscellaneous 

Trimmings    249 

Carriage  Laces   252 

Swords   268 

Flags,  Insignia,  etc   288 

Undertakers'  Furnishing  Goods   290 

Hayden,  J.  H.  &  Son,  Windsor  Locks,  Conn.    H  76. 

Black  Sewing-Silk   24.3 

Atwood  &  Richmond,  Brooklyn,  Conn.     H  77. 

Ounce  Silk  Machine  Twist,  black  and  colors   243 

NoNOTucK  Silk  Co.,  Florence,  Mass.     H  74. 

Black   and  colored  Machine   Twist,  Buttonhole  Twist, 
Embroidery  and  Sewing-Silk   243 

Seavey,  Foster  &  Bowman,  Canton,  Mass.     H  75. 

Cocoons,  Raw  Silk   242 

Twisted  Silk   243 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA.  213 

Belding  Bros.  &  Co.,  Rockville,  Conn.    H  76. 

Twisted  Silk  in  gum.  Raw  Silk,  Cocoons   242 

Machine  Twists  ;  Sewings,  Embroidery  and  Saddlers'  Silks ; 

Buttonhole  Twist   243 

Heminway,  M.  &  Sons'  Silk  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y.     H  73. 

Spool,   Embroidery    and    Saddlers'   Silk ;    Machine  and 

Buttonhole  Twist,  etc   243 

Holland  Manufacturing  Co.,  Willimantic,  Conn.     H  74. 

Silk  Machine  Twist  and  Sewing  Silk.  .  .  .•   243 

AuB,  Hackenburg  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.     H  76. 

Raw  Silk  and  Cocoons   242 

Machine  and  Buttonhole  Twist,  Sewing  and  Spool  Silk.  .  .  243 
HovEY,  F.  S.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.     H  76. 

Sewing-Silks  and  Machine  Twists   243 

Brainerd,  Armstrong  &  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y.     H  75. 

Spool  and  Skein  Silks,  black  and  colors   243 

Weidmann  $c  Greppo,  Paterson,  N.  J.     H  76. 

Dyed  Silks,  blacks  and  colors   246 

Morel,  Chas.,  &  Sons,  Philadelphia,  Pa.     H  76. 

Skein  Silks,  dyed   243 

Wright,  Wm.  P.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.     H  76. 

Oiled  Silks  and  Muslins.  ,   245 

American  Silk  Label  Manufacturing  Co.,  New  York,  N.Y.    H  77. 

Names  of  Signers  of  Declaration  of  Independence,  Labels 

and  other  designs,  woven  in  silk   246 

E.  DE  Boissiere,  Silkville,  Williamsburgh,  Kansas.     H  76. 

Raw  Silk  and  Cocoons   242 

Silk  Velvet  Ribbons   248 


MACHINERY  HALL. 
DEPARTMENT  V.— MACHINERY. 

CLASSIFICATION. 
CLASS  520. — Machines  for  the  Manufacture  of  Silk  Goods. 
EXHIBITORS. 
Nonotuck  Silk  Co.,  Florence,  Mass.     D  41. 

Machinery  for  throwing  and  finishing  sewing-silk,  twisty. 


and  embroidery;  machine  for  printing  spools   520 

Danforth  Locomotive  and  Machine  Co.,  Paterson,  N.  J.   D  28  and 

41.    Machinery  for  throwing  silk   520 

Cutter,  John  D.  &  Co.,  New  York,  N.  Y.    B  30. 

Jacquard  silk  loom  in  operation.    Mechanism  for  measuring 

silk  while  spooling  it   520 

Holland  Manufacturing  Co.,  Willimantic,  Conn.     D  34. 

Machinery  for  throwing  organzine,  winding  and  spooling 
silk  twist,  measuring  and  testing  the  strength  of  silk  and 

other  threads   520 

Wrigley,  John,  Paterson,  N.  J.    D  28. 

Jacquard  loom,  changeable  for  power  or  hand   520 

Knowles  &  Bro.,  Worcester,  Mass.    D  51. 

Looms  for  silk  dress  goods,  ribbons,  webbings,  etc   520 

Phcenix  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.,  Paterson,  N.  J.    D  4  and  32. 

Jacquard  looms,  weaving  silk  dress  goods,  and  book  marks. 


214 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


WOMEN'S  PAVILION. 
SILK  EXHIBITORS. 

Itschner,  Wernfr,  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — 

Jacquard  and  Ribbon  weaving  in  operation. 
HoRSTMANN,  Wm.  H.  &  SoNS,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — 

Manufacturers  of  Military,   Regalia,   Church  and  Theatrical 

Goods,  Banners,  Flags,  &c. 


AGRICULTURAL  HALL. 

EXHIBITOR. 

Neumann,  Joseph,  San  Francisco,  Cal. — 

California  Raw  Silk,  Cocoons,  Silk-Worms  feeding,  silk  reeling, 
flags,  &c. 

LIST  OF  JUDGES  FOR  GROUP  IX. 

Silk  and  Wool  Fabrics,  including  Materials  and  Machinery. 

*  Elliott  C.  Cowdin,  of  New  York,  Chairman. 

*  Consul  GusTAv  Gerhard,  of  Elberfeld,  Germany,  Secretary. 

Henry  Mitchell,  -  -  -  -  -  of  Bradford,  England. 
John  L.  Hayes,       _____         of  Cambridge,  Mass. 

*  John  G.  Neeser,  ----_-        -     of  Switzerland. 

*  Aug.  Behmer,  ------         of  Egypt. 

*  Kenzo  Hayami,  -----_-        -      of  Japan. 

*  M.  Chatel,     -  --of  France. 

*  Charles  LeBoutillier,         -        -        -        -        -    of  Philadelphia. 

Dr.  Max  Weigert,  _-_-_-        -    of  Germany. 
Carl  Arnberg,     -        -        -        -        -        -        -        -of  Sweden. 

Theodore  Bochner,         ------       of  Austria. 

C.  J.  Ellis,  ------_-    of  Philadelphia. 

J.  D.  Lang,     -        -        -        -        -        -        -of  Vassalboro',  Me. 

*  Those  marked  with  an  asterisk,  are  assigned  to  silk  fabrics  and  machinery. 


Extracts  from  the  Rules  Relating  to  Awards. 

Awards  shall  be  based  upon  written  reports  attested  by  the  signatures  of  their  authors. 

Reports  and  Awards  shall  be  based  upon  inherent  and  comparative  merit.  The  elements 
of  merit  shall  be  held  to  include  considerations  relating  to  originality,  invention,  discovery, 
utility,  quality,  skill,  workmanship,  fitness  for  the  purpose  intended,  adaptation  to  public 
wants,  economy,  and  cost. 

Reports  recommending  awards  shall  be  made  and  signed  by  a  Judge  in  each  Group, 
stating  the  grounds  of  the  proposed  award,  and  such  reports  shall  be  accepted,  and  the 
acceptance  signed  by  a  majority  of  the  Judges  in  such  Group. 

Awards  will  be  finally  decreed  by  the  United  States  Centennial  Commission,  in  compliance 
with  the  Act  of  Congress,  of  June  i,  1872,  and  will  consist  of  a  special  report  of  the  Judges 
on  the  subject  ot  the  Award,  together  with  a  Diploma  and  a  uniform  Bronze  Medal. 

Signed, 

A.  T.  GOSHORN,  Director  General. 
F.  A.  YJAhKlLK,Chief  of  Bureau  of  Aivards. 


i 


DIEECTOKY  OF  SILK  MANUFACTURE 
THE   UNITED  STATES. 
1876. 


IN 


Page. 


Importers  of  Raw  Silk,   217 

Brokers  in  Raw  Silk,   217 

New  York  Manufacturers  of,  and  Dealers  in,  Silk  Goods,   .  218 

New  Jersey,   222 

Pennsylvania,   225 

Maryland,   226 

Connecticut,   237 

Massachusetts,       ..........  228 

New  Hampshire   229 

Vermont,   230 

Kansas,   230 

Missouri,   230 

Illinois,   230 

Ohio,   230 

California,   230 


I 


SILK  DEPAETMENT, 


INCLUDING  IMPORTERS  OF  RAW  SILK,  BROKERS, 
DEALERS,  AND  SILK  MANUFACTURERS. 


NEW  YORK  CITY. 

IMPORTERS  OF  RAW  SILK. 


C.  A.  AufFmordt  &  Co   10  Greene 

A.  Begoden   12  Old  Slip 

Jesse  S.  Blydenburgh   66  Pine 

Gary  &  Co   90  „ 

John  Caswell  &  Co   87  Front 

H.  Fogg  &  Co  32  Burling  Slip 

Gossler  &  Co   134  Pearl 

Hadden  &  Co   33  Chambers 

Heinemann  &  Casey.    (In  liquidation)   58  Pine 

Hewlett  &  Torrance   69  Wall 

A.  A.  Low  &  Bros  31  Burling  Slip 

William  F.  Milton  &  Co.  159  Maiden  Lane 

Morewood  &  Co   34  South 

Oelrichs  &  Co  2  Bowling  Green 

Olyphant  &  Co.,  of  China   104  Wall 

J.  C.  Phillips  &  Co   130  Water 

William  Ryle,  and  dealer  in  Thrown  Silks   33  Mercer 

William  H.  Smith  &  Son   77  William 

Swire  Bros. ;  A.  H.  Gibbes,  Agent   68  Wall 

Vogel,  Hagedorn,  &  Co.;  Benjamin  D.  Smith  ....  120  Front 

John  T.  Walker   81  Pine 

Wetmore,  Cryder,  &  Co   74  South 

Wood,  Pay  son,  &  Colgate   64  Pine 

BROKERS  IN  RAW  SILK. 

D.  O'Donoghue  &  Co   48  Howard 

G(5orge  M.  Haywood   191  Church 


2l8 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMEkICA. 


Rowland  Johnson 
B.  Richardson  &  Son 
Nathan  H.  Johnson  . 


  54  Beaver 

  5  Mercer 

119  Market  Street,  Philadelphia 


SILK  MANUFACTURERS,  AND  DEALERS  IN  SILK 
MANUFACTURES. 


Arnold  &  Banning.    Twills,  &c.    Salesroom,  56  Lispenard  Street. 
Bache  &  Bidmead.    Elastic  Webs.    Factory  and  salesroom,  155  and 
157  11th  Avenue. 

Bernstein  &  Mack.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimming  and  Passementerie.  Fac- 
tory, 214  to  222  West  26th  Street;  salesroom,  479  Broadway. 

Samuel  Bertschy  &  Co.  Ribbons,  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings,  &c.  Fac- 
tory, cor.  10th  Avenue  and  46th  Street ;  salesroom,  460  Broome 
Street. 

C.  F.  Blake.    Ribbons.    Fulton  Street,  Brooklyn. 

William  Blau.  Tassels  and  Fur  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom, 
88  Prince  Street. 

Boston  &  Schmid.  Coach  Laces,  Fringes,  and  Tassels.  Factory  and 
salesroom,  5  West  Fourth  Street. 

Brainerd,  Armstrong,  &  Co.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  469  Broad- 
way; 301  Market  Street,  Philadelphia;  13  German  Street,  Balti- 
more. 

Edward  G.  Brown.  Upholstery  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom, 
787  and  789  Broadway. 

John  T.  Camp  &  Co.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.  Factory  and  sales- 
room, 19  Mercer  Street. 

B.  L.  Cohen.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom,  5 
Howard  Street. 

Collett  &  Hugel.  Fringes,  Gimps,  and  Cords.  Factory  and  salesroom, 
26  Union  Square. 

William  H.  Copcutt  &  Co.  Tram,  Spool  Silks,  Sewing  Silk,  and  Twist. 
Mills,  Yonkers ;  salesroom,  350  Canal  Street. 

lames  Dalton.    Hair  Nets.    Factory  and  salesroom,  61  Hudson  Street. 

Deppeler  &  Kammerer.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.  Factory  and  sales- 
room, 108  Grand  Street. 

George  Dietzel.  Hair  Goods  and  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.  Factory 
and  salesroom,  398  Broome  Street. 


NEW  YORK. 


MANUFACTURERS  AND  DEALERS  IN  SILK. — NEW  YORK.  219 


F.  Dreisacker  &  Co.  Cloak  TrimmiDgs  and  Buttons.  Factory  and 
salesroom,  491  Broadway. 

Julius  Dreyfuss.  Dress  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom,  146 
Eldridge  Street. 

Adolph  S.  Ellison.    Dress  Trimmings.    46  Walker  Street. 

Fisher  &  TafF.  Ladies'  Dress  and  Cloak  Trimmings.  Factory  and 
salesroom,  8  Howard  Street. 

Louis  Franke.  Organzine,  Tram,  Twist,  and  Fringe  Silk,  Braid  and 
Silk  Fringes,  Sash  Ribbons,  Braided  Cord,  Tubular  Braid,  &c.  Braid- 
ing works  and  silk  mill,  Paterson  ;  Trimming  factory,  444  Broome 
Street,  New  York ;  salesroom,  480  Broadway. 

Frankeuheimer  &  Co.  Upholstery  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom, 
810  Broadway. 

Hugo  Funke.  Ribbons.  Mills,  College  Point ;  salesroom,  343  Canal 
Street. 

German  Braid  Company.    Silk  Braids.    Brooklyn,  E.  D. 

Henry  Gimpel  &  Co.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings,  Cords,  and  Tassels. 
Factory  and  salesroom,  403  Broadway. 

Frederick  Gminder  &  Co.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings,  Cords,  and  Tas- 
sels.   Factory  and  salesroom,  56  Walker  Street. 

Louis  Greenbaum.  Cords  and  Tassels.  Factory,  447  to  453  West  26th 
Street ;  salesroom,  248  Canal  Street. 

P.  Hagan.    Dress  Trimmings.    Factory  and  salesroom,  180  Bowery. 

M.  Haiffes.    Dress  Trimmings.  Rochester. 

Henry  Hartwig  &  Co.  Upholstery  Trimmings.  Factory  and  sales- 
room, 340  Bowery. 

Frederick  Haubner  &  Co.  Upholstery  Trimmings.  Factory  and  sales- 
room, 606  Eighth  Avenue. 

Thomas  F.  Hayes.  Ladies'  Dress  and  Cloak  Trimmings.  Factory 
and  salesroom,  77  University  Place. 

James  Heidenreick.  Silk  Dyer.  423  and  425  West  35th  Street,  and 
422,  424  36th  Street. 

Jacob  Heinemann.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings,  Cords,  Tassels,  &c.  28 
Howard  Street. 

Helmke  &  Co.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom, 
731  Broadway. 

William  H.  H.  K.  C.  Higgins.  Agent  for  Hobley  Bros.,  Williams- 
burgh  and  Uncas  Ribbon  Co.,  Preston,  Conn.  Dealer  in  Ribbons 
and  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.    Salesroom,  107  Grand  Street. 

Isaac  Hilton.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom,  128 
River  Street,  Troy. 

Hobley  Bros.  William  H.  H.  K.  C.  Higgins,  Agent.  Belt  Ribbons, 
Ladies'  Dress  and  Cloak  Trimmings,  &c.  Factory,  Williamsburgh ; 
salesroom,  107  Grand  Street. 


-I 


220 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


F.  Hoffman.  Furrier  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom,  356 
Bowery. 

Horstmann  Bros.  &  Allien.  Military  Equipments,  Regalia,  Silk 
Bunting,  Theatrical  Goods,  &c.  Factory,  Philadelphia ;  salesroom, 
7  Bond  Street. 

George  Howard.  Fancy  Goods,  Twills,  &c.  Roman  Scarfs  a  spe- 
cialty.   Factory  and  salesroom,  343  West  24th  Street. 

C.  W.  Jackson  &  Co.  Dress  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom, 
114  East  14th  Street. 

A.  G.  Jennings.  Guipure,  Blonde  and  Brussels  Laces,  Grenadine 
Veiling,  &c.  Factory,  "Nottingham  Lace  Works,"  Park  Avenue 
and  Hall  Street,  Brooklyn  ;  salesroom,  428  Broome  Street. 

Alexander  King  &  Co.  Dealers  in  Organzine,  Tram,  Fringes,  Twist 
and  Sewing  Silks.    Salesroom,  52  White  Street. 

Kormann  &  Stepath.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.  Factory  and  sales- 
room, 42  Walker  Street. 

Rudolph  Krumsick.  Cords,  Tassels,  and  Fur  Trimmings.  Factory 
and  salesroom,  7  Mercer  Street. 

M.  Leiter.  Ribbons  and  Upholstery  Gimps.  Factory  and  salesroom, 
59  to  65  Goerck  Street. 

F.  Leschhorn  &  Co.  Ladies'  Dress  and  Cloak  Tiimmings.  Factory 
and  salesroom,  21  Howard  Street. 

Robert  Levy  &  Co.  Eureka  Cord  and  Tassel  Co.  Cords  and  Tassels. 
Factory  and  salesroom,  204  West  Houston  Street. 

J.  Lovatt's  Sons.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Factory  and  salesroom. 
Tarry  town. 

S.  McLure.  Dress  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom,  251  Fulton 
Street,  Brooklyn. 

William  Macfarlane.    Gum  Silk,  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.    Mills  and 

salesroom,  Yonkers,  "  Nepperhan  Silk  Works." 
Macfarlane  &  Co.    Agents  for  Macfarlane  Bros.,  Mansfield,  Conn. 

Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.    Salesroom,  43  Walker  Street. 
J.  Maidhof  &  Co.    Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.    Factory  and  salesroom, 

455  and  457  Broadway. 
John  Marr.    Hair-nets,  Lace  Goods,  Jacquard  Weaving.    Factory  and 

salesroom,  144  Centre  Street. 
Charles  N.  Martin.    Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.    Salesroom,  319  Canal 

Street. 

A.  Maynard  &  Co.    Upholstery  Trimmings.    Factory  and  salesroom, 

100  South  6th  Street,  Brooklyn,  E.  D. 
L.  Meyer  &  Co.    Dress  Trimmings.    Factory  and  salesroom,  424 

Broome  Street. 

A.  Moll.  Braids.  Factory  and  salesroom,  238  and  235  5th  Street, 
Brooklyn,  E.  D. 


MANUFACTURERS  AND  DEALERS  IN  SILK.  —  NEW  YORK.  221 


George  S.  Moulton  &  Co.  Gros  Grain  Ribbons,  Hat  Bands,  &c. 
Salesrooms,  100  and  102  Worth.  Street,  and  73  Chauncy  Street, 
Boston. 

Ernst  IMuller.    Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.     Factory  and  salesroom, 

820  Broadway. 
J.  Nawl.    Cords  and  Braids.  Brooklyn. 

William  Neustaedter.    Dealer  in  Tram,  Organzine,  and  Spun  Silk. 

Salesroom,  46  Walker  Street. 
Jacob  New.    Ribbons.    Factory,  422  to  428  West  38th  Street ;  sales- 
room, 458  Broome  Street. 
New  York  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.    Gros  Grain  Ribbons,  Beltings, 

and  Hat  Bandings.    Factory  and  salesroom,  291  West  11th  Street. 

L.  Bloom,  Sole  Agent. 
Nordheira  &  Harris.    Dress  and  Upholstery  Trimmings.    Factory  and 

salesroom,  7  Washington  Place. 
Maurice  O'Brien.    Upholstery  Trimmings  and  Fringes.    Factory  and 

salesroom,  94  Bowery. 
Oneida  Community,  Oneida.     Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.     Mills  and 

salesroom,  Oneida. 
Morris  Opper.     Dress   Trimmings.     Factory   and  salesroom,  G84 

Broadway. 

A.  L.  Phillips  &  Co.    Hatters'  and  Furriers'  Trimmings.  Factory 

and  salesroom,  54  Mercer  Street. 
S.  Pick.    Dress  and  Cloak  Trimmings.    Factory  and  salesroom,  595 

Broadway. 

Reitmeyer  &  Dusenberry.  Manufacturers  and  Importers  of  Silk  Wor- 
sted, Linen  and  Cotton  Fringes  and  Trimmings,  Hatters'  Trimmings, 
&c.  Factory,  324  to  332  Delancey  Street,  and  31  to  41  Tompkins 
Street ;  salesroom,  29  .Howard  Street. 

Roemer  &  Co.  Upholstery  Trimmings  and  Fringes.  Factory  and 
salesroom,  729  Broadway. 

Reuben  Ryle  &  Co.  Agents  for  Sterrett,  Ryle,  &  Murphy,  Paterson, 
N.  J.  Tram,  Organzine,  Spool  Silks,  and  Ribbons.  Salesroom,  19 
Mercer  Street. 

Sanquoit  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.    L.  R.  Stelle,  President.  Richard 

Rossmassler,    Treasurer.     Tram,   Organzine,    and    Fringe  Silks. 

Factory  and  salesroom,  Sanquoit,  near  Utica  ;  and  319  to  323  Garden 

Street,  Philadelphia. 
C.  A.  Schmidt.    Upholstery  Trimmings  and  Fringes.    Factory  and 

salesroom,  85  Chambers  and  67  Reade  Streets. 
J.  Silbermann  &  Co.    Bonnet  and  Belt  Ribbons,  Dre.-^s  l.'rimmings. 

Cords,  Tassels,  &c.    Factory,  452  to  456  10th  Avenue  ;  salesroom, 

21  Mercer  Street. 


222 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


George  B.  Skinner  &  Co.  Tram,  Organzine,  and  Fringe  Silk,  Sewing 
and  Twist.    Mills,  Yonkers;  salesroom,  59  Walker  Street. 

John  N.  Stearns  &  Co.  Organzine,  Dress,  and  Fancy  Silks,  Pop- 
lins, Serges,  Pongees,  &c.,  &c.  Factory,  213  to  221  East  42d 
Street ;  salesroom,  43  Mercer  Street. 

E.  Steinhardt.  Ribbons.  Factory,  1G2  to  164  West  27tli  Street; 
salesroom,  89  Grand  Street. 

L.  Sutro.  Ladies'  Dress  and  Fur  Trimmings.  Factory  and  sales- 
room, 35  Wooster  Street. 

R.  Weinberg.  Upholstery  Trimmings  and  Fringes.  Factory  aiid 
salesroom,  814  Broadway. 

William  Weiss.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings,  Buttons,  and  Ornaments. 
Factory  and  salesroom,  424  Broome  Street. 

P.  H.  &  W.  Williams.  Fringes,  Tassels,  Gimps,  &c.  Factory  and 
salesroom,  875  Broadway. 


NEW  JERSEY. 

R.  H.  Adams.  Ribbons  and  Fancy  Silks.  Factory  and  salesroom, 
Paterson. 

C.  B.  Auer  &  Co.  Neckties,  Bindings,  &c.  Mills,  Paterson,  "  Oldham 
Mills;"  salesroom,  18  Mercer  Street,  New  York.  M.  H.  Chapin 
&  Co. 

Frederick  Baare.  Plain  and  Fancy  Silks,  Ribbons.  Factory,  Pater- 
son ;  salesroom,  21  Mercer  Street,  New  York.  G.  W.  Geer, 
Agent. 

P.  &  J.  Bannagan.     Tram,  Organzine,  Fringe,  and  Fancy  Silks. 

Mills,  Paterson  ;  salesroom,  1 23  Mercer  Street,  New  York. 
Barnes  &  Co.    Tram,  Organzine,  and  Braids.    Mill,  "  Beaver  Mill," 

Paterson. 

Boonton  Silk  Factory.  J.  A.  Van  Orden,  President ;  S.  L.  Garrison, 
Secretary  ;  James  Stansfield,  Manager.    Piece  Goods.  Boonton. 

J.  H.  Booth  &  Co.  Tram,  Organzine,  and  Fringe  Silks.  Mills,  cor. 
Market  and  Spruce  Streets,  Paterson. 

C.  ChafFonjon.  Broad  Silks,  Serges,  Satin  de  Ch^ne,  &c.  Mills, 
Hudson  City,  "  Favorite  Silk  Manufactory." 

Dale  Manufacturing  Co.  Thomas  N.  Dale,  President;  C.  H.  Kim- 
ball, Treasurer.  Stokes,  Caldwell,  &  Co.,  Agents.  Tram,  Organ- 
zine, Sewing  Silk,  and  Twist,  Scarfs,  Tie  Silks,  Cords,  and  all  classes 
of  Silk  Braids  and  Bindings.  Mills,  Paterson ;  salesroom,  70 
Franklin  Street,  New  York. 

Joseph  Day.    Ribbons.    Factory  and  salesroom,  Paterson. 


MANUFACTURERS  AND  DEALERS  IN  SILK.  —  NEW  JERSEY.  223 


Day  Manufacturing  Co.  A.  A.  Hopper,  President;  Edward  Arnold, 
Treasurer  ;  Arnold  &  Banning,  Agents.  Dress  and  Fancy  Silks, 
&c.    Mills,  Paterson ;  salesroom,  56  Lispenard  Street,  New  York. 

Dexter,  Lambert,  &  Co.  Twill  Silks,  Tie  Silks,  Ribbons,  and  Ladies' 
Dress  Trimmings.  Mills,  Paterson.  Agents,  C.  A.  AufFmordt  & 
Co.,  10  to  14  Greene  Street,  New  York. 

Polydor  Dorgeval  &  Co.  Dyers  in  the  Piece,  and  Finishers.  59  Bridge 
Street,  Paterson. 

John  Dunlop.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills,  Paterson,  "Union  Silk 
Works  ;"  salesroom,  51  Leonard  Street,  New  York. 

W.  R.  Edwards.  Handkerchiefs,  Fancy  Silks,  &c.  Factory  and  sales- 
room, Paterson. 

Excelsior  Manufacturing  Co.  John  D.  Cutter.  Sewing  Silk,  Twist, 
and  Fish  Lines.  Factory,  Grant  Locomotive  Works,  Paterson  ;  sales- 
room, 92  Church  Street,  New  York. 

Joseph  Fletcher.  Twills,  &c.  Factory  and  salesroom,  109  Tyler 
Street,  Paterson. 

H.  H.  Freeman  &  Co.  Piece  Silks  and  Sewing  Silks.  Mills,  Pater- 
son ;  salesroom,  103  Franklin  Street,  New  York. 

Giametti  &  Co.    Throwsters.    Factory  and  salesroom,  Haledon. 

Givernaud  Bros.  Gum  Silks,  Dress  and  Fancy  Silks.  Factory  and 
salesroom,  Hoboken  ;  office,  48  Howard  Street,  New  York. 

F.  Grassan.  Upholstery  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom,  Wash- 
ington Street,  Hoboken. 

Grimshaw  Bros.  Twills,  &c.  Mills,  cor.  Market  and  Spruce  Streets, 
Paterson. 

Hamil  &  Booth.    Tram,  Organzine,  and  Fringe  Silks,  Ribbons,  Fancy 
Silks,  &c.    Mills,  Paterson,  "  Passaic  Silk  Works  "  and  "  Hamil 
Mill;  salesroom,  461  Broome  Street,  New  York. 

I.  P.  Hulser  &  Co.  Fancy  Silks.  Factory,  Paterson  ;  salesroom,  324 
West  37th  Street,  New  York. 

Manhattan  Loom  Company.    John  Burns  &  Co.    Ribbons,  Silks,  &c. 

Mills,  Paterson;  salesroom,  491  Broadway,  New  York. 
J.  P.  McKay.    Dress,  Plain,  and  Fancy  Silks,  Scarfs,  &c.    Mills  and 

salesroom,  Paterson. 
Caspar  Meisch.    Hat  Bindings.    Factory  and  salesroom,  Paterson. 
S.  M.  Meyenberg.     Ribbons,  Veils,  Ties,  &c.     Factory,  Paterson  ; 

salesroom,  40  Lispenard  Street,  New  York. 
Morlot,  Stettheimer,  &  Co.    Silk  Dyers  ("  Passaic  Silk  Dye  Works"), 

and  Ribbons.    Mills,  Paterson ;  salesroom,  98  Grand  Street,  New 

York.    Elliott  C.  Cowdin  &  Co. 
Pelgram  &  Meyer.     Ribbons,  Piece  Goods,  &c.     Mills,  Paterson  ; 

salesroom,  456  Broome  Street,  New  York. 


224 


THE  STLK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Phoenix  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.  Benjamin  B.  Tilt,  President ;  W. 
H.  K.  Bibby,  Secretary.  B.  B.  Tilt  &  Son,  Agents.  Silk  Piece 
Goods,  Handkerchiefs,  Ribbons,  &c.,  Tranas,  Organzines,  &c.  Mills, 
Paterson ;  salesroom,  477  Broome  Street,  New  York,  and  in  Boston 
and  Philadelphia. 

John  Ryle  &  Sons.     Tram,  Organzine,  and  Spool  Silks,  Dress  and 

Fancy  Silks,  &c.     The  Murray  Mills,  Paterson;  salesroom,  100 

Worth  Street,  New  York. 
J.  Jackson  Scott.     Sewing  Silk  and  Twist,  and  Silk  Dyer.  Factory 

and  salesroom,  Paterson. 
See  &  Sheehan.     Silk  Dyers.     Dye  Works,  Paterson  ;  office,  461 

Broome  Street,  New  York. 
A".  Siedendorf.    Upholstery  Trimmings.    Factory  and  salesroom,  Ho- 

boken. 

Herman  Simon.  Dress  and  Fancy  Silks.  Factory  and  salesroom, 
Town  of  Union. 

Singer  Manufacturing  Co.  Inslee  A.  Hopper,  President,  Machine 
Twist.  Mills,  Newark ;  salesrooms.  Union  Square  and  16th  Street, 
New  York;  69  Hanover  Street,  Boston;  13  North  Charles  Street, 
Baltimore  ;  186  King  Street,  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  89  Canal  Street,  New 
Orleans;  605  North  Fourth  Street,  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  105  Kearney 
Street,  San  Francisco;  111  State  Street,  Chicago;  and  in  all  the 
principal  cities  of  America  and  Europe. 

Wright  Smith.    Millinery  Silks.  Paterson. 

A.  Soleliac  &  Sons.    Ribbons,  Plain  and  Fancy  Silks.    Factory,  Dale 

Mills,  Paterson  ;  salesroom,  90  and  92  Grand  Street,  New  York. 

Kiefer  &  Co.,  Agents. 
Sterett,  Ryle,  &  Murphy.     Agents,  Reuben  Ryle  &  Co.  Ribbons. 

Factory,  Paterson.    Salesroom,  19  Mercer  Street,  New  York. 
C.  Spangenberg.    Upholstery  Trimmings.     Factory  and  salesroom, 

Garden  Street,  Hoboken. 
William  Strange  &  Co.    Ribbons,  Handkerchiefs,  Millinery  Silks,  &c.. 

Trams,  Organzines,  &c.    Mills,  Paterson.   Salesroom,  Strange  &  Bro. 

455  Broome  Street,  New  York.  Paris  house,  E.  B.  Strange  &  Bro. 
William  Ther  &  Sons.     Elastic  Webbing.     Factory  and  salesroom. 

New  Brunswick. 
J.  Vacher.    Serges,  Satins,  &c.    Factory  and  salesroom,  Haledon. 
Weidmann  &  Greppo.    Silk  Dyers.    Dye  Works,  cor.  Paterson  and 

Ellison  Streets,  Paterson.    Black  Dyeing  a  specialty.    Office,  400 

Broadway,  New  York. 
Wortendyke  Manufacturing  Co.    Tram,  Organzine,  and  Fringe  Silks. 

Mills,  Wortendyke ;  Salesroom,  52  White  Street,  New  York.  Alex- 
ander King  &  Co. 


MANUFACTURERS  AND  DEALERS  IN  SILK.  PENNSYLVANIA.  225 


PENNSYLVANIA. 

PHILADELPHIA. 

Aub,  Hackenburg,  &  Co.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Factory,  244  to 
248  North  Front  Street;  salesrooms,  20  North  3d  Street;  216  Church 
Street,  New  York ;  20  German  Street,  Baltimore ;  69  West  3d 
Street,  Cincinnati. 

G.  F.  Bechmann.  Upholstery  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom, 
116  North  3d  Street. 

Columbia  Mutual  Silk  Co.  Tram,  Organzine,  and  Fringe  Silks,  Rib- 
bons, Fancy  Silks,  &c.  Mills  and  salesroom,  319  to  323  Garden 
Street. 

Cunningham  &  Hill.    Upholstery  Trimmings.    Factory  and  salesroom, 

204  Church  Street. 
M.  C.  Cuttle.    Silk  Dyer.    Germantown  Road  above  Lehigh  Avenue. 
Davenport  Bros.    Upholstery  Trimmings.    Factory  and  salesroom,  cor. 

Mother  and  York  Streets. 

H.  L.  Freyer.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.  Factory,  25  South  8th 
Street;  salesroom,  727  Jaine  Street. 

E.  H.  Godschalk.  Ladies' Dress  Trimmings.  Fringes,  Cords,  Tassels, 
&c.  Factory  and  salesroom,  cor.  12t?h  and  Buttonwood  Streets; 
salesroom  in  New  York,  71  Franklin  Street. 

John  Goldthorp.  Upholstery  Trimmings,  Cords,  Tassels,  &c.  Factory 
and  salesroom,  1111  Chestnut  Street. 

J.  C.  Graham.  Ladies'  Dress  and  Cloak  Trimmings  of  every  descrip- 
tion.   Factory  and  salesroom,  525  and  527  Cherry  Street. 

S.  R.  &  F.  Hansell.  Upholstery  and  Shade  Trimmings  of  every  de- 
scription. Factory,  9th  Street  and  Columbia  Avenue  ;  salesroom,  21 
North  4th  Street. 

L.  M.  Harned  &  Co.  Upholstery  Goods,  Shade  Trimmings,  Cords  and 
Tassels.    Factory  and  salesroom,  139  North  6th  Street. 

Hensel,  Colladay,  &  Co.  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings  of  every  descrip- 
tion.   Factory  and  salesroom,  22  to  24  North  4th  Street. 

B.  Hooley  &  Son.  Tram,  Organzine,  Floss,  and  Fringe  Silks,  Sewing 
Silk,  and  Twist.  "Keystone  Silk  Mills;"  salesroom,  226  Market 
Street. 

William  H.  Horstmann  &  Sons.  Gum  Silks,  Ladies'  Dress  and  Cloak 
Trimmings  of  every  description,  Ribbons,  Fringes,  Floss,  Upholstery 
Trimmings,  Coach  and  Carriage  Laces  and  Trimmings,  Jacquard  Weav- 
ing. [Military  Equipments,  Regalia,  Thnairical  Goods,  Silk  Bunting, 
Sashes,  Scarfs,  &c.    Horstmann  Bros.  &  Allien,  7  Bond  Street,  New 


226 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


York.]  Factory  and  salesroom,  cor.  5th  and  Cherry  Streets,  Phil- 
adelphia ;  salesroom,  410  Broadway,  New  York. 

F.  S.  Hovey.  Sewing  Silks  and  Twist.  Salesroom,  248  Chestnut 
Street. 

W.  Itschner  &  Co.    Ribbons.    Mills,  Tioga  Station,  German  town ; 

salesrooms,  233  Chestnut  Street;  462  Broome  Street,  New  York. 
T.  Jones  &  Son.    Silk  Dyer.     Dye  Works,  110  and  112  Putnam 

Street. 

J.  &  A.  Kemper.    Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.     Factory  and  salesroom, 

33  South  4th  Street. 

Rudolph  Klauder  &  Co.  Dyer  of  Silk,  Wool,  and  Worsted.  "  Quaker 
City  Dye  and  Print  Works,"  cor.  Howard  and  Oxford  Streets. 

Henry  C.  Lees.  Upholstery  Trimmings.  Factory  and  salesroom,  303 
Chestnut  Street. 

M.  W.  Lipper  &  Co.  Ladies'  Dress  and  Cloak  Trimmings,  and  Ladies* 
Neck-wear.  "Keystone  Braid  Mills;"  salesrooms,  144  and  146 
North  5th  Street ;  338  Broadway,  New  York ;  and  49  Summer 
Street,  Boston. 

Charles  Morel.    Silk  Dyer.    2219  Richmond  Street. 

G.  A.  Perks  &  Co.    Upholstery  Trimmings.    Factory  and  salesroom, 

34  South  2d  Street. 

Philadelphia  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.  John  Carnahan,  President ; 
A.  M.  Sutton,  Treasurer  and  Manager.  Gros  Grain  Ribbons,  Belt- 
ings, and  Hat  Bindings.  Factory  and  salesroom,  60  to  66  Canal 
Street. 

Joseph  Roehm.  Dealer  in  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Office,  47  South 
4th  Street. 

Sanquoit  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.  L.  R.  Stelle,  President ;  Richard 
Rossmassler,  Treasurer.  Tram,  Organzine,  and  Fringe  Silks.  Fac- 
tory and  salesroom,  319  to  323  Garden  Street ;  and  at  Sanquoit,  near 
Utica,  N.  Y. 

The  Scranton  Silk  Co.  Henry  A.  Atkins,  President ;  Frederick  Har- 
vey, Superintendent ;  Arnold  B.  Fenner,  Treasurer.  Alexander 
King  &  Co.,  Sole  Agents.  Organzine  and  Tram.  Mills,  Scranton. 
Joseph  K.  Harvey,  Agent.    Salesroom,  52  White  Street,  New  York. 


MARYLAND. 

BALTIMORE. 

M.  Hecht  &  Co.    Ladies'  and  Gents'  Neck-wear,  and  Dress  Trimmings. 

Factory  and  salesroom,  43  German  Street. 
G.  Tallerman  &  Co.    Ladies'  Dress  and  C/'loak  Ornaments,  and  Uphol- 
■  stery  Trimmings.    231  Frederick  Av  y  ue. 


MANUFACTURERS  AND  DEALERS  TN  SILK.  CONNECTICUT.  227 


William  P.  Towles  &  Bro.    Ribbons,  Neckties,  Scarfs,  Trimmings, 
Suspenders,  &c.    145  Baltimore  Stieet. 


CONNECTICUT. 

0.  Atwood.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills  and  salesroom,  New  Lon- 
don. 

Atwood  &  Richmond.  Machine  Twist.  Mills  and  salesroom,  Brooklyn. 
Belding  Bros.  &  Co.    Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.     Mills,  Rockville ; 

salesrooms,  510  Broadway,  New  York  ;  56  Summer  Street,  Boston; 

56  West  4th  Street,  Cincinnati ;  198  P'ast  Madison  Street,  Chicago; 

601  North  4th  Street,  St.  Louis  ;  6th,  cor.  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia. 

L.  C.  Hall,  Jr.,  &  Co.,  Agents  for  Philadelphia  house. 

1.  H.  Booth.    Coach  Laces.    New  Haven. 

C.  L.  Bottnm  &  Co.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills,  Willimantic ; 
salesroom,  79  Chambers  Street,  New  York. 

L.  D.  Brown  &  Son.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills,  Middletown  ; 
salesroom,  439  Broadway,  New  York.    H.  H.  Albro,  Agent. 

O.  S.  Chaffee  &  Son.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills  and  salesrooms, 
Mansfield  Centre  and  Willimantic. 

Cheney  Bros.  Tram,  Organzine,  and  Spun  Silk,  Sewing  Silk  and 
Twist,  Dress  and  Fancy  Silks,  Sasl),  Bonnet,  and  Belt  Ribbons, 
Marcellines,  Florentines,  Foulards,  Pongees,  Twills,  Handkerchiefs, 
Flags,  &c.  Mills,  Hartford  and  South  Manchester;  salesrooms,  477 
Broome  Street,  New  York,  and  19  Franklin  Street,  Boston. 

A.  A.  &  H.  E.  Conant.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills  and  salesroom, 
Willimantic. 

Connah  &  Turner.  Tram,  Organzine,  Sewing  Silk,  and  Twist.  Mills, 
Turnerville;  salesroom,  269  Canal  Street,  New  York. 

C.  H.  Farnham.  Dealer  in  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Salesroom, 
Willimantic. 

Charles  R.  Garratt.  Belt  Ribbons,  Bonnet  Ribbons.  Factory,  Golden 
Hill,  Bridgeport,  Conn.;  salesroom,  469  Broadway,  New  York. 
Brainerd,  Armstrong,  &  Co. 

P.  G.  &  J.  S.  Hanks.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills  and  salesroom,' 
Gurleyville. 

J.  H.  Hayden.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills  and  salesroom,  Wind- 
sor Locks. 

M.  Heminway  &  Sons'  Silk  Co.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills, 
Watertown ;  salesrooms,  78  Reade  Street  and  99  Church  Street, 
New  York. 

Holland  Manufacturing  Co.  Ira  Dimock,  Manager.  Sewing  Silk  and 
Twist.    Mills,  Willimantic ;  salesroom,  435  Broadway,  New  York. 


228 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Tobias  Kohn.  Sewing  Silks,  Braids,  and  Trintimings.  "Novelty 
Weaving-  and  Braiding  Works,"  Hartford ;  salesrooms,  42  Market 
Street,  Hartford ;  Arnold  &  Banning,  56  Lispenard  Street,  New  York ; 
42  Bedford  Street,  Boston  ;  30  Bank  Street,  Philadelphia  ;  7  Ger- 
man Street,  Baltimore  ;  163  5th  Avenue,  Chicago. 

John  N.  Leonard.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills  and  salesroom, 
Rockville. 

Macfarlane  Bros.  Sewing  Silk,  Machine  and  Button-hole  Twist.  Mills, 
Mansiield  Centre;  salesroom,  Macfarlane  &  Co.,  43  Walker  Street, 
New  Yoi-k. 

B.  K.  INIills  &  Co.  Coach  Laces,  Fringes,  Tassels,  &c.  Factory  and 
salesroom,  56  and  58  Cannon  Street,  Bridgeport. 

J.  S.  Morgan.  C.  L.  Bottum  &  Co.,  Agents.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist. 
Mills,  South  Coventry  ;  salesroom,  79  Chambers  Street,  New  York. 

Norfolk  Silk  Co.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills  and  salesroom,  Nor- 
folk. Salesroom,  Baldwin,  Lovell,  &  Co.,  107  8th  Avenue,  New 
York. 

Oneida  Community.    Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.     Mills  and  salesroom, 

Wallingford,  and  Oneida,  N.  Y. 
Charles  H.  Pardee.    Coach  Laces.    New  Haven. 

E.  B.  Smith.    Belding  Bros.  &  Co.,  Agents.    Sewing  Silk  and  Twist. 

Mills,  Gurleyville;  salesroom,  510  Broadway,  New  York. 
Uncas  Ribbon  Co.    E.  Oldfield,  Superintendent ;  William  H.  H.  K.  C. 

Higgins,  Treasurer.    Ribbons.     Factory,  Preston,  near  Norwich ; 

salesroom,  William  H.  H.  K.  C.  Higgins,  107  Grand  Street,  New 

York. 


MASSACHUSETTS. 

Barr,  Rider,  &  Co.    Dealers  in  Sewing  Silks.    Salesroom,  21  Summer 
Street,  Boston. 

Boston  Elastic  Fabric  Co.     Suspender  Webs,  Garter  Webs,  Frills, 

Cords,  and  Braids.     Mills,  Chelsea;   salesrooms,  175  Devonshire 

Street,  Boston;  102  Chambers  Street,  New  York. 
Burr,  Brown,  &  Co.    Upholstery  Trimmings.    Factory  and  salesroom, 

85  Devonshire  and  289  Washington  Streets,  Boston. 
Henry  Day.    Ribbons.    Factory  and  salesroom,  19  Franklin  Street, 

Boston. 

Isaac  Farwell,  Jr.,  &  Co.    Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.    Mills,  Newton ; 

salesroom,  32  Avon  Street,  Boston. 
O.  Fiedler  &  Co.    Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.    Factory  and  salesroom, 

36  Winter  Street,  Boston. 


MANUFACTURERS  AND  DEALERS  IN  SILK.  —  MASSACHUSETTS.  229 


Fiedler,  Moeldner,  &  Co.  Dress  and  Cloak  Trimmings.  Factory,  473 
to  477  Tremont  Street;  salesroom,  36  Winter  Street,  Boston. 

A.  W.  French  &  Co.  Dealers  in  Gum  Silks.  Salesroom,  28  Winter 
Street,  Boston. 

Glendale  Manufacturing  Co.  Stoddard,  Lovering  &  Co.,  Agents. 
Rubber  Elastics,  Bands,  &c.  Mills,  Easthampton  ;  salesroom,  121 
Duane  Street,  New  York. 

G.  H.  Mansfield  &  Co.  Fish  Lines.  Factory  and  salesroom,  Canton. 
V.  J.  Messinger  &  Co.    Dealers  in  Sewii;g  Silk  and  Twist,  and  all 

kinds  of  Twisted  Silk.    Salesroom,  23  Dock  Square,  Boston. 

Milliken  Bros.  Dealers  in  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist,  Ribbous,  and  La- 
dies' Dress  Trimmings.    56  Summer  Street,  Boston. 

Nonotuck  Silk  Co.  Ira  Dimock,  President ;  A.  T.  Lilly,  Treasurer. 
Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills,  Florence  and  Leeds  ;  salesrooms,  2 
Bedford  Street,  Boston  ;  147  State  Street,  Chicago  ;  88  West  3d 
Street,  Cincinnati ;  66  and  68  Thomas  Street,  New  Yoik.  E.  W. 
Eaton,  Agent. 

Saunders  Silk  Co.  E.  Saunders,  President ;  R.  Gardner,  Treasurer. 
Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.  Mills,  Pittsfield,  Mass.  ;  salesroom,  77  Frank- 
lin Street,  New  York. 

Seavey,  Foster,  &  Bowman.  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist  Mills,  Canton  ; 
salesrooms,  7  Mercer  Street,  New  York ;  40  Summer  Street,  Boston; 
6  Washington  Street,  Chicago  ;  323  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia. 

William  Skinner.  Organzine,  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist,  and  Silk  Braids. 
"  Unquomonk  Silk  Mills,*'  Holyoke,  Mass. ;  salesroom,  327  Broad- 
way, New  York.    J.  R.  Peck,  Manager,  New  York. 

Streeter,  Merrick,  &  Co.  Machine  Twist.  Mills  and  salesroom,  Shel- 
burne  Falls. 

L.  D.  Suydam.  Dealer  in  Sewing  Silks.  Salesroom,  8  Hamilton 
Place,  Boston. 

Warner  &  Lathrop.  Sewing  Silk,  Machine  Twist,  Tailors'  Twist,  &e. 
Mills  and  salesroom,  Northampton. 

H.  L.  Whitney.    Dealer  in  Sewing  Silks.    Salesroom,  Boston. 
Thomas  Wilkins  &  Co.    Dealers  in  Sewing  Silks.    Salesroom,  Green 

Street,  near  Bowdoin,  Boston. 
Ziegler  &  Downs.    Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.    Factory  at  Boston  High- 
lands ;  office,  5  Chauncy  Street,  Boston. 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

Charles  W.  Kelsea  &  Co.    Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.    Mills  and  sales- 
room, Antrim. 


230 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


VERMONT. 

J.  F.  Stearns.    Sewing  Silk  and  Twist.    Mills  and  salesroom,  Brattle- 
boro'. 


•  KANSAS. 

E.  de  Boissiere.  Silkworms'  Eggs,  Cocoons,  Mulberry  Trees,  Ribbons, 
and  Ladies'  Dress  Trimmings.  Mills,  Silkville,  Williamsburgh, 
Franklin  County. 

MISSOURI. 

Schact  &  Bro.    Upholstery  Trimmings.    Market  Street,  St.  Louis. 


ILLINOIS. 

Ederer  &  Peters.    Upholstery  Trimmings.    61  Washington  Street, 
Chicago. 

A.  B.  Fiedler.    Upholstery  Trimmings.    5G  State  Street,  Chicago. 
E.  A.  Jacobs.    Upholstery,  Dress,  and  Military  Trimmings.    106  to 
110  South  State  Street,  Chicago. 


OHIO. 

F.  Brogelmann.    Upholstery  Trimmings.    204  Vine  Street,  Cincinnati. 
John  Franz.    Fringes,  Tassels,  Cords,  and  Gimps.    25  Oregon  Street, 
Cleveland. 

F.  IIofFmeister.    Fringes,  Gimps,  Tassels,  &c.    152  West  4th  Street, 
Cincinnati. 

Iloffineister  &  Deneal.    Fringes,  Dress  Trimmings,  &c.    Factory  and 
salesroom,  104  5th  Street,  Cincinnati. 


CALIFORNIA. 

The  California  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.    Rodgers,  Meyer,  &  Co.  Tram, 

Orgaiizine,  Sewing  Silk,  and  Twist.    Mills,  South  San  Francisco. 

Agents,  William  McDonald  &  Co.    Salesroom,  13  Post  Street. 
Joseph  Neumann,  Silk  Cidturist  of  San  Francisco,  and  Manufacturer  of 

Silk  Flags,  &c.    909  ^  Market  Street. 
Pacific  Factory.     William  Englander.      Silk  Fringes  and  Gimps. 

Factory  and  salesroom,  751  Market  Street,  San  Francisco. 
Union  Pacific  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.    George  C.  Bode,  President. 

Ribbons.    Mills,  San  Francisco. 


INDEX  OF  NAMES.^ 


Page. 

Adams,  William   57 

Aiken,  Son  &  Co   71 

Allen,  Franklin,  1,  85,  88,  137, 

139,  140,  151,  192,  194,  196 
American  Institute  of  New  York, 

5  1,  67,  84,  121-127 
American  Philosophical  Society, 

33.  34.  36 
American  Silk  Grower  &  Farm- 
er's Manual  61,  64 

American  Silk  Label  Manufac- 
turing Co   213 

Armstrong,  Benjamin  A   83 

Arnberg,  Carl   214 

Arnold,  E.  H   124 

Arnold,  Constable  &  Co   71 

Arthur,  Chester  A.,  Collector.  184 

Aspinwall,  Dr.  N  30,  33 

Atkins,  James  D   134 

Atlantic  Silk  Co   57 

Atwood,  John  E   76 

Atwood,  William  52,  57,  88 

Atwood  &  Holland   93 

Atwood  &  Richmond  81,  212 

Atwood  &  Russ  123 

Aub,  Hackenburg  &  Co., 

77,  127,  J41,  193,  213 

Auburn  State  Prison   121 

Auer,  C.  B.,  &  Co   118 

Auffmordt,  C.  A.  &  Co  71,  141 

Baare,  Frederick,  73,  84, 11 7,  1  26, 2 1 2 

Baare  Silk  Man'f'g  Co  73,  117 

Bachmann  Brothers   127 

Banfield,  Charles   123 

Bannagan,  P.  &  1   119 

Barbour,  Rev.  I.  R  37,  44 

Barnes,  David  A   141 


Page, 

Bay  State  Mills   125 

Beach,  Mrs.  Mary   122 

Begoden,  A  ,   141 

Behmer,  Aug   214 

Belding,  Milo  M  85,  139 

Belding  Brothers  &  Co., 

71,  77,  127,  141,  193,  213 

Benkard  &  Hutton  80,  83 

Benson,  George  W   57 

Benson,  John  C   112 

Bernaud,  M.  ,   79 

Bernstein  &  Mack  126,  141 

Bertschy,  Samuel,  &  Co   75 

Bingham,  Jesse   52 

Bochner,  Theodore   214 

Booth,  J.  H.,  &  Co  78,  116 

Bottum,  C.  L  75,  76,  79,  114 

Bottum,  C.  L.,  &  Co  76,  141 

Bourgougnon,  M   150 

Brainerd,  James  P   83 

Brainerd  &  Armstrong   83 

Brainerd,  Armstrong  &  Co., 

83,  84,  127,  141,  213 

Brockett,  L.  P   1 

Brown,  Mr.  (of  Boston)   52 

Brown,  H.  L   73 

Brown,  L.  D   73 

Brown,  L.  D.,  &  Son  73,  94 

Burleigh,  C.  C,  Jr  ■  •  •  -  53.  54 

Burns,  John,  &  Co   119 

Burritt,  George  H....  85,  139,  141 
Butler,  J.  H   55 

California  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.  82 

Cantrell  &  Chapin   126 

Cary  &  Co  141,  193 

Caswell,  John,  &  Co  71,  141 

Central  Village  Silk  Co   83 


*The  Directory  of  Silk  Manufacturers,  the  Business  Announcements,  and  names  in 
the  History  that  are  not  connected  with  the  Silk  Industry  in  America,  are  not  included 
in  this  Index. 


232 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


Page. 

ChafFee,  O.  S  5^,  59 

ChaiFee,  O.  S.,  &  Son  58,  141 

ChafFonjon,  C   141 

Chamberlaine,  Dr.  Samuel. ...  46 

Chase,  Hon.  S.  P   64 

Chatel,  M   214 

Cheney,  Charles  37,  62—66 

Cheney,  Frank,  60,  63,  84,  139,  141 
Cheney,  Frank  W., 85,  139,  140,  141 

Cheney,  George   62 

Cheney,  John   60 

Cheney,  Ralph  54,  60 

Cheney,  Rush   60 

Cheney,  Seth  60,  63 

Cheney,  Ward, 

37,60,62-66,  84,  134,  191 
Cheney  Brothers,  44,  54,  60-66, 
71,  80,  99,   124,   125,  126, 

\^7>  134.  i37>  HO>  170.  193.  212 

Chidsey,  Samuel   35 

Chronological   Record  of  Silk 

Industry  in  America   1 

Cincinnati  Industrial  Expos'n . .  127 

Clapp,  S.  W  141,  149 

Clarke,  John  33»  44 

Clay,  Henry  c  55,  202 

Cleveland  &  Co  124,  125 

Cobb,  Jonathan  H., 

32,  37,42,43,  52,  54,  57,  67,  133 

Cobb,  Lemuel   67 

Coit,  Samuel   141 

Colt,  Christopher,  43,  56,  [lo,  111 
Colt,  Christopher,  Jr., 

43,  68,  110,  112 

Colt,  Samuel   110 

Comings,  George   126 

Comstock,  Judge  F.  G  44,  133 

Conant,  Albert  A   69 

Conant,  H.  E   69 

Conant,  John  A   79 

Conant,  Capt.  Joseph, 

52,  57,  58,  69,  76,  135 

Conant,  A.  A.,  &  H.  E  69,  141 

Conant  &  Bottum   75 

Conant  Brothers   73 

Conant,  J.,  &  Co  58,  72 

Conant  Mill  72,  76 

Connecticut  Silk  Manufacturing 

Co  43,  56,  59 

Copcutt,  Wm.  H.,  &  Co..  71,  141 

Court,  C   124 

Court  &  Deschaux   123 


Page. 

Cowdin,  Elliott  C   214 

Coxe,  Tench   35 

Crabtree  &  Wilkinson   124 

Crane,  Harvey.   57 

Crosby,  O.  W   126 

Crosley,  C.  W   125 

Cuttle,  M.  C   135 

Cutter,  John  D., 

80,  117,  118,  119,140,  141 
Cutter,  John  D.,  &  Co   213 

Dale,  T.  Nelson,  Jr   116 

Dale,  Thomas   59 

Dale,  Thomas  N.,  71,  78,  84, 

85,  1 16,  139,  140^  141,  192 

Dale,  Thomas  N.,  &  Co   78 

Dale  Manufacturing  Co., 

78,  79,  116,  126,  193,  212 

Dale  Mill  78,  81,  118 

Danforth  Locomotive  &  Ma- 
chine Co  80,  83,  91,  213 

Darling,  Wm.  A.,  Appraiser..  183 
Day  Manufacturing  Co. ......  118 

De  Boissiere,  E  48,  82,  213 

Delabigarre,  Peter   36 

Denmead,  John   I22 

Deppeler  &  Kammerer  71,  75 

De  Resende,  Luis   49 

Deschaux,  Combier   123 

Dexter,   Lambert  &  Co., 

59,  75,  117   193,  211 
D'Homergue,  J., 

33.  37,  41,  54,  121,  133 

Dickenson,  Governor   33 

Dimock,  Ira, 

58,  79,  85,  139,  140   141,  192 

Dimock,  Shubael   54 

Doremus,  Prof.  R.  Ogden....  150 

Draper,  John  H.  &  Co   71 

Draper,  Simeon   110 

Draper  &  Crumble   110 

Dumont,  F.  S   124 

Dunlop,  John  71,  80,  119 

Dunlop  &  Malcolm  80,  116 

Duponceau,  Hon.  Peter  S., 

32,  36,  4i>  42,  52 

Earnshaw  Needle  Loom   99 

Elliott,  Rev.  Dr.  Jared   29 

Ellis,  C.  J     214 

Euler,  T   124 

Evans,  Dr.  Cadwallader   34 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Page. 

Excelsior  Man'f'g  Co  80,  126 

Excelsior  Silk  and  Twist  Co..  125 

Fenner,  A.  B   141 

Fisher,  Grace   33 

Fisher,  W.,  Heyden  &  Co   123 

Fisk,  William  A   52 

Fletcher,  Joseph   118 

Fogg,  Wm.  H  .   141 

Fogg,  Wm.  H.,  &  Co.   ...71,  193 

Foster,  Charles   67 

Fox,  John  123,  124 

Franke,  Louis,  71,  78,  85,  118, 

139,  141,  193,  212 

Franke  &  Rost   78 

Franklin,  Dr.  Benjamin   34 

Franklin  Institute  of  Pennsyl- 
vania..51,  54,  77,  121,  125,  127 
French,  Hon.  Stephen  R.,  Ap- 
praiser  183 

Frink,  Wm.  B   121 

Funke,  Hugo  83,  141 

Gebhard,  Consul  Gustav   214 

Genesee  Farmer,  the   33 

Georgia  Colonial  Government,  28 

Gibbs,  A.  H   141 

Gilbert,  John  ,   50 

Gill,  John  W  122,  123,  124 

Gillet,  Felix   47 

Givernaud  Brothers   80 

Givernaud,  P.  G  80,  126 

Golding,  Edmund  52,  121 

Goodridge,  Ezra   88 

Goodridge,  Frank   89 

Goodridge,  Samuel  W   89 

Goodridge,  Ezra  R.,  &  Co.. .  .  89 

Goodridge  &  Walker   89 

Goshorn,  A.  T.,  Director-Gen- 
eral 1,  214 

Gossler  &  Co   71 

Graham,  J.  C  72,  73,  141 

Grant,  D.  Beach   80 

Grant  Locomotive  Works.  ...  117 

Greenleaf,  J.  H  99,  100 

Greppo,  C, 

71,  79,  84,  85,  117,  139,  142 

Greppo  Mill   117 

Grimshaw  Brothers   118 

'Gruet,  Peter  1  22,  123 

Gurley,  E.  R   124 

Gurney  &  Co   69 


Page. 

Hadden  &  Co   71 

Haggerty,  Draper  &  Jones ....   1 10 

Halstead,  S.  &  S   ]  22 

Hamil  Mill  74,  118 

Hamil,  Robert..  84,  118,  140,  143 
Hamil  &  Booth,  71,  74,  113, 

118,  119,  126,  137,140,  173,  212 

Hammond,  G.  A   76 

Hanks,  George  R  50,  74 

Hanks,  Horace   35 

Hanks,  Horatio   50 

Hanks,  J.  S   74 

Hanks,  P.  G   74 

Hanks,  Rodney  50,  74 

Hartford  County  Agricultural 

Fair   121 

Hartford  Knitting  Co   123 

Haskell,  Mr   57 

Haskell  &  Hayden, 

67,  122,  123,  124 

Hatch,  C.  B   124 

Hayami,  Kenzo   214 

Hayden,  J.  H.,  56,  57,  59,  142,  192 
Hayden,  J.  H.,  &  Son.  .  57,  67,  212 

Hayden,  William  122,  123 

Hayes,  John  L   214 

Hayes,  Thomas  F   142 

Hecht,  M.,  &  Co   76 

Hedden,  E.  L   142 

Heidenrick,  James   135 

Heinemann,  Jacob   142 

Heinemann,  Hirsch   69 

Heinemann  &  Silbermann  ....  69 

Heminway,  M   72 

Heminway,  M.,  &  Sons   125 

Heminway  M.,&  Sons'  Silk  Co., 

72,  126,  213 

Hensel,  Henry  W   73 

Hensel,  Colladay  &  Co  73, 

Hensel,  Wolff  &  Co   71 

Higgins,  W.  H.  H.  K.  C   82 

Hill,  S.  L  57,58 

Hinckley,  S.  L   58 

Hoeckly,  Mr   51 

Holdsworth,  E   142 

Holland,  G  76,  79 

Holland,  Harrison   50 

Holland,  J.  Harvey  72,  75,  79 

Holland,  J.  H.  &  G  79,  125 

Holland,  Mrs.  G   79 

Holland  Manufacturing  Co ..  79,  2 1  3 
Hooley,  B   67 


234 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


Page. 

Hooley,  B.,  &  Son  67,  142 

Hopper,  LA  71,  85,  139,  142 

Horstmann,  F.  O.,  85,  139,  140,  142 

Horstmann,  Sigmund  H   51 

Horstmann,  Wm.  H  S^j  84 

Horstmann,  Wm.  J  5],  84,  85 

Horstmann  Wm.  H.,  &  Sons, 
73'  99>  'o8,  125,  126, 
137,  140,  142,  179,  193, 

212,  214. 

Hovey,  F.  S  69,  142,  213 

Hovey,  Julius   124 

Hovey,  Storrs  52,  69 

Hutchinson,  Jeffrey   122 

lies,  William  71,  74,  142 

Itschner,  Werner  142,  193 

Itschner,  Werner,  &  Co., 

78,  126,  212,  214 

Jacquard,  Joseph  Marie  105 

James  I.,  of  England  26,  27 

Jenkins,  E.  J   125 

Jennings,  A.  G., 

85,  101,  126,  127,  139,  142,  193 

Jones,  A.  L .  .  , ,  '   1 22 

Jones,  T.,  &  Son   135 

Jones,  Wm.  H. .  .  .  67,  121 

Jones,  Underhill  &  Scudder. .  .  71 
Johnson,  Rowland. .......  142,  192 

Judson,  Hon.  Andrew  T.  .  .  .37,  44 

Kammerer,  L   84 

Kenrick,  William  44,  133 

Kern  &  Franke   78 

Keystone  Silk  Mill   67 

King,  Alexander,  &  Co   142 

Klauder,  Rudolph  79,  142 

Klauder,  Rudolph,  &  Co   135 

Knowles  &  Brother   213 

Knowlton,  C.  C   76 

Kohn,  Tobias. .70,  142,  192,  212 

Lang,  J.  D   214 

Lambert,  C.  85,  139,  142 

Lathrop,  J.  S   72 

Lawrence,  A.  A   55 

Le  Boutillier,  Charles   214 

Leigh,  Lewis  134,  135 

Lilly,  Alfred  52,  53 

Lilly,  A.  T., 

1,         32,  44.  52,  S^y  135 


Page. 

Lincoln,  Governor  37,  43 

Lombe,  Sir  Thomas   29 

Loomis,  S.  0   123 

Lovett,  James   69 

Lovett,  James,  &  Sons    76 

Lovett  &  Standish   69 

Low,  A.  A  ?!>  89 

Low,  Seth, 

85,  139,  140,  142,  149,  150,  197 
Low,  A.  A.  &  Bros., 55,  71,  142,  193 

Lum,  Stephen   118 

Lyman,  Edward   55 

Macauley,  Catherine   33 

Macfarlane,  Duncan  124,  125 

Macfarlane  Brothers  73,  142 

Maidhof,  J  71,  72,  84 

Maidhof,  J.,  &  Co   72 

Manhattan  Loom  Co   118 

Mansfield  Silk  Co., 

52,  53>  57.  69,  76,  81 

Manny,  Miss  A.  L   122 

Marr,  John   76,  103 

Maryland  Institute  for  Promot- 
ing Mechanic  Arts   127 

McCall,  Thomas   30 

McKay,  J.  P  84,  118 

McRae,  John  54,  121,  122 

McRae,  Thomas  C,  &  Co.  . .  54 

McVickar,  S   71 

Meeker  &  Maidhof   72 

Messinger,  V.  A   67 

Messinger,  V.  J   67 

Messinger  &  Brother   67 

Meyenberg,  S.  M., 

71,  81,  1 18,  142,  193,  212 

Meyenberg,  Prall  &  Co   81 

Middletown  Mills   73 

Milward,  James.,  123,  124 

Milton,  Wm.  F.,  &  Co   142 

Mitchell,  Aaron   54 

Mitchell,  Henry   214 

Monumental  Silk  Man'f 'g  Co.,  76 

Monumental  Silk  Works   76 

Moore,  E.  P.,  &  Co   82 

Moravians   36 

Morel,  Charles,  &  Sons.  ..135,  213 

Morlot  &  Stettheimer  118,  119 

Morodendron  Silk  Co   57 

Morris,  Edmund  44,  52 

Mount  Nebo  Silk  Mills  60,  61 

Mount  Nebo  Silk  Manf 'g  Co.,  63 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Page. 

Movvry,  A.  L   71 

Miiller,  A.  M   47 

Murray,  G.  W  68,  112 

Murray  &  Ryle,  68,  112,  122,  123 
Murray  Mill   113 

National  Association  Silk  Man- 
ufacturers for  Expos'n  of  1 869  84 

Neeser,  John  G   214 

Neumann,  Joseph  47,  127,  214 

New  England  Silk  Co  43,  122 

Newport  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.  125 

Neustadter,  J   125 

New  York  Dyeing  and  Printing 

Establishment   123 

New  York  and  Northampton 

Silk  Co  55,  56,  57 

Nonotuck  Silk  Co.,  58,  70,  83, 
126,  127,  134,  142,  193,  212,  213 

Nonotuck  Steam  Mill   58 

Northampton    Association  of 
Education  and  Industry ...  .  122 

Northampton  Community   57 

Northampton  Silk  Company..  .  123 

Norwich  Loom  Co   82 

Nottingham  Lace  Works, 

101,  ]  27,  21  2 
Nottingham  Manufacturing  Co.  126 
Novelty  Weaving  and  Braiding 
Works   70 

O'Donoghue,  D..71,  85,  139,  141 

Oldfield,  E   82 

Old  Oil  Mill,  Florence,  Mass.  54 
Olyphant  &  Co.,  of  China,  71,  143 

O'Neal,  Mr   117 

Oneida  Community,  80, 1 26, 1 27, 142 
Ortolengi,  Signor  28,  29 

Pascalis,  Dr.  Felix ..  37,  38,  44,  133 

Passaic  Silk  Works  74,  114 

Pelgram  &  Meyer  83,  118,  142 

Phillips,  J.  C,  &  Co.  .  ."   142 

Phcenix  Mill   n6 

Phoenix  Silk  Manufacturing  Co., 

59,  108,  116,  127,  142,  213 

Pierce,  J.  S   123 

Pierce,  Mrs.  J.  S   123 

Pinckney,  Mrs., (of  So. Carolina)  29 

Pitkin,  Solomon   63 

Poughkeepsie  Silk  Co   57 

Prall  Brothers   71 


Page. 

Prevost,  Louis   47 

Price,  Mathias   121 

Quaker  City  Dye  Sc  Print  Works, 

79,  135 

Rapp,  Miss  Gertrude   122 

Rennie,  R   124 

Richardson,  B., 

71,  84,  85,  139,  140,  142,  192 

Richardson,  F.  G   142 

Rixford,  Nathan. ..  .53,  54,  88,  123 

Rixford  &  Dimock   67 

Roca,  Signor   46 

Rondot,  M   206 

Rossmassler,  Richard  75,  142 

Rush,  Hon.  Richard. ..  30,  34,  133 

Russell,  Augustus   55 

Russell,  Samuel,   55 

Russell  &  Co.,  of  China   55 

Royce,  James  69,  73 

Ryle,  John,  1,  56,  68,84,  ^°9' 
111,  112,  113,  114,  121,  124,  142 

Ryle,  John  C   84 

Ryle,  Thomas   123 

Ryle,  William,  71,   85,  137, 

139,  140,  142,  149,  164,  193 

Ryle,  John,  &  Sons  68,  1  19 

Ryle,  Reuben,  &  Co   142 

Salter,  Benjamin  80,  84,  118 

Sauquoit  Silk  Manufacturing  Co.  75 

Sauvage,  Abbe   34 

Schwietering,  Herman   124 

Scott,  J.  Jackson   119 

Scranton  Silk  Co  83,  141 

Seavey,  J.  W.  C  67,  85,  139 

Seavey,  J.  W.  C,  &  Co   67 

Seavey,  Foster  &  Bowman, 

67,  137.  140.  142,  172,  212 

Sea  &  Shean   119 

Shapter,  James  S  84,  126 

Sharp,  G.  W   123 

Shepherd  &  Howe   124 

Silbermann,  J   .  69,  84 

Silbermann,  J.,  &  Co  142,  193 

Silbermann, Heinemann  &  Co  ,69,  71 
Silk  Association  of  America,  1, 

66,  71,  84,  85,  86,  88,  116, 

117,  118,  1 20,  1 37-209 

Silk  Culturist,  The   44 

Silk    Industry    Association  of 

Paterson,  N.  J  84,  114,  118 


236 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


Page. 

Silk  Manufacturing  Co.,  of  Col- 
lege Point,  L.  1   83 

Silk  Record,  The  

Simes,  Charles  F   143 

Simon,  Herman  83,  143 

Simon,  Robert  82,  83 

Simon,  Robert  &  Herman.  ...  83 

Singer,  I.  M   58 

Singer  Manufacturing  Co., 

71,  76,  127,  142,  193 
Skinner,  Geo.  B.,  71,  74,  84, 

85,  139,  140,  142,  192 
Skinner,  Geo.  B.,  &  Co., 

137,  140,  168 

Skinner,  Hon.  John  S   44 

Skinner,  Wm., 

70,  71,  72,  85,  134,  135,  139,  142 

Smith,  E.  B   69 

Smith,  Hon.  Gideon  B., 

37,  38,  44,  52,  S4  ,133 

Smith,  H.  Erskine...,   143 

Smith,  L.  Bayard....  85,  139,  143 

Smith,  L.  0   84 

Smith,  Timothy   122 

Smith,  Wm.  H.,  &  Son  ....  7  1,  193 

Snow,  Eliphalet   54 

Soleliac,  A  85,  118,  139,  140 

Soleliac,  A.,  &  Sons., 

71,  81,  118,  137,  140,  143,  193 
State  Prison  at  Mt.  Pleasant, 

N.  Y   121 

Stearns,  John  N.,  71,  79,  82, 

85,  139,  140,  143,  149,  197 
Stearns,  John  N.,  &  Co., 

71,  79,  127,  193,  211 
Stebbins,  Dr.  Daniel. ...  37,  39,44 

Stelle,  L.  R  75,  84,  114,  143 

Stelle,  L.  R.,  &  Sons   114 

Stelle  &  Walthall  75,  114 

Stiles,  Rev.  Dr  30,  31 

St.  John,  Mr  55,  56,  111 

St.  Louis  Industrial  Exhibition..  1  27 
Storrs,  Hon.  Zalmon  .  .  37,  44,  104 

Strange,  A.  B  85,  139,  140,  143 

Strange,  William,  84,  85,  117, 

137,  139,  140,  143,  149,  175 

Strange  &  Brother   77 

Strange,  Wm.,  &  Co., 

71.  77>  117.  193.  212 

Streeter,  Merrick  &  Co   83 

Streeter  &  Wood   83 

Struss,  H.  W   78 


Page. 

Summy,  Miss  Harriet   123 

Swartz,  Mrs.  Caroline   123 

Swift,  Dwight  57,  58 

Swire  Brothers   141 

Talbot,  George  W   143 

Tallerman,  Godfrey    76 

Tallerman,  G.,  &  Co   76 

Tallerman,  Hecht  &  Co   76 

Taotai,  Che  Kiang   169 

Tilt,  Albert  84,  143,  197 

Tilt,  B.  B  59,  108,  116 

Tilt,  B.  B.,  &  Co   59 

Tilt,  B.  B.,  &  Son  71,  193 

Tilt  &  Dexter  59.  75 

Tomita,  T.   (Vice  Consul), 

143,  192,  193 

Towles,  Wm.  P   76 

Towles  Brothers  &  Co   76 

Towles,  Tallerman  &  Co   76 

Turner,  John   125 

Turner  &  Gurley    124 

Uncas  Ribbon  Co   82 

Union  of  Exhibitors  of  Brazil..  49 

Union  Pacific  Silk  Co   82 

United  Brethren   36 

Unquomonk  Silk  Mills   70 

Valentine  &  Sowerby   123 

Vallentine,  Edward  134,  135 

Van  Schaick,  Myndert   122 

Van  Winkle,  Mr   83 

Velvet  Mill,  Paterson   117 

Vernon,  Mr   133 

Vogel,  Hagedorn  &  Co   143 

Wakefield  Mills   122 

Walker,  F.  A   214 

Walker,  John  T., 

71,  85,  89,  139,  143,  192,  193 
Walker,  Mr.,  (of  the  Colonial 

Assembly)  ,   27 

Walthall,  Mr   75 

Warner,  Joseph   72 

Warner,  Holland  &  Co   72 

Warner  Sc  Lathrop.  .  .  .  58,  72,  143 

Warner  &  Suydam   72 

Watson,  W.  G.,  &  Son   126 

Webster,  Daniel   55 

Weed,  Joseph  H   89 

Weidmann,  Jacob  79,  143 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Page. 

Weidmann  &  Greppo, 

79,  119,  135,  137,  140,  213 

Weigert,  Dr.  Max   214 

Werner  &  Maidhof.   72 

Wetmore,  Cryder  &  Co   142 

Whitmarsh,  Samuel, 

37»  39,  44,  S5>  57,  i34 

Wilder,  Prof.  Burt  G   11 

William  Atwood  Mill   73 

Williams,  William  E   73 

Williams  &  Co   83 

Williamsburg  Reservoir  54,  70 


237 

Page. 

Wilmer,  Cannell  &  Co   124 

Wolcott,  Gov   37 

Wolfsohn,  Meyenberg  &  Co..  81 
Wood,  Payson  &  Colgate,  143,  193 

Wright,  Mrs.  Susanna   33 

Wright,  Wm.  P   213 

Wrigley,  John   213 

Yates,  B.  S   121 

Young,  Dr.  Edward,  Chief  of 
Bureau  of  Statistics  198-202 


Business  Announcements. 


INDEX 

TO  BUSINESS  ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


Belding  Brothers  &  Co.,          _            _            _  _ 

ii 

John  N.  Stearns  &  Co.,     -           -           -  - 

-  iii 

Seavey,  Foster  &  Bowman,      _           -           _  _ 

iv 

Samuel  Coit,         -           _           -           _  _ 

V 

Wm.  H.  Horstmann  &  Sons,  -            -            -  - 

vi 

George  B.  Skinner  &  Co.,             _           _  _ 

-  vii 

Danforth  Locomotive  and  Machine  Company,  - 

viii 

Wm.  Pickhardt  &  KuttrofF, 

ix 

H.  Funke, 

ix 

Jno.  Dunlop, 

ix 

Weidmann  &  Greppo,            _            _            -  _ 

X 

Nonotuck  Silk  Company,  -            -            -  - 

-  xi 

Nottingham  Lace  Works,  A.  G.  Jennings, 

xiii 

S.  R.  &  F.  Hansen,           _            _            _  _ 

-  xiv 

Machinists'  Association,  Paterson,        _           _  _ 

xiv 

Louis  Franke,       _            _            -            _  _ 

XV 

Franklin  S.  Hovey,  ----- 

xvi 

Stanno  Chemical  Company,          _           -  - 

-  xvi 

John  D.  Cutter  &  Co.,          _           -           -  _ 

xvii 

Werner  Itschner  &  Co.,  - 

-  xviii 

J.  Atkinson  &  Co.      _           -           -           _  - 

xviii 

Reuben  Ryle  &  Co.,  - 

-  xviii 

J.  C.  Graham,           _            _            _            _  - 

xviii 

Brainerd,  Armstrong  &  Co., 

xix 

New  England  Cotton  Manufacturers'  Association, 

XX 

National  Association  of  Wool  Manufacturers, 

xxi 

Butler  &  Johnson,  ----- 

xxii 

American  Iron  and  Steel  Association, 

-  xxiii 

Hensel,  Colladay  &  Co.,       -           -           -  - 

xxiv 

Aub,  Hackenburg  &  Co.,           _           _           _  . 

XXV 

Beach  &  Co.,  ----- 

XXV 

J.  H.  Hayden  &  Son,     -           -           -           -  - 

XXV 

Herman  Simon,        _           -           -           _  _ 

XXV 

Dale  Silk  Manufacturing  Company,          -            -  - 

-  xxvi 

Holland  Manufacturing  Company,     -            -  - 

xxvii 

Stephen  J.  Cox,             _           _           _           _  _ 

-  xxviii 

Cheney  Brothers,     -            -            -            -  - 

XX  ix 

L.  D,  Brown  &  Son,      -            -            -            -  - 

XXX 

M.  Heminway  &  Sons'  Silk  Company, 

xxxi 

Colgate  &  Co.,  ------ 

-  xxxii 

Pelgram  &  Meyer,  -            -            -  - 

xxxiii 

THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


in 


John  N.  Stearns  &  Co., 

43  MERCER  STREET, 
New  York. 

MANUFACTURERS  OF 

PLAIN  AND  BROCADE 

Dress  Silks, 

Twilled  Silks 

IN  ALL  COLORS 

For  Tie  and  Millinery  Purposes^ 

ALSO 

SILK  HANDKERCHIEFS. 

FACTORIES  : 
213  to  22  1  East  42d  Street,  New  York, 
And  New  Brighton,  S.  L 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


V— >.  MANUFACTURERS  OF  THE  ■<  y 


LION  EUREKA 

AND  OTHER  POPULAR  BRANDS 


OF 


Machine  Twist 


SEWING  SILKS 


FOR  MANUFACTURING  PURPOSES. 


ALSO  THE 


CELEBRATED  EUREKA  SILK  AND  TWIST, 
FOR  FAMILY  USE. 


40  Summer  Street,  7  Mercer  Steet, 

Boston.  New  York, 

G.  H.  FOSTER  &  CO., 

6  Washington  Street,  Chicago. 


MILLS  AT  CANTON,  MASS. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


V 


THE  EARNSHAW  NEEDLE  LOOM, 

As  Perfected  by  J.  H,  GREENLEAF. 

This  Loom  is  specially  adapted  for  weaving  Silk  Dress  Goods,  Sashes,  Ribbons  of  all 
widths.  Webbings,  Tapes,  Bindings,  Rubber  Webbings,  &c.  It  substitutes  the  eye-pointed 
needk  with  a  continuous  thread  for  the  shuttle  and  its  bobbins  or  quills,  and  makes  the 
selvedge  by  interlocking  the  thread  with  a  selvedge  thread  carried  by  a  small  shuttle. 

We  claim  for  this  Loom  these  advantages  : 

The  production  of  an  increased  quantity  of  fabric,  at  the  same  rate  of  speed,  as  that  of 
the  ordinary  Silk  Power  Loom  ;  increased  speed  ;  no  abrasion  of  the  warp  by  the  shuttle, 
hence  no  reduction  of  time  for  breakages  ;  an  endless  filling  running  continuously,  and 
hence  no  waste  of  filling  from  the  use  of  small  cops  or  quills,  as  in  the  shuttle  loom  j  a 
fabric  superior  to  that  produced  in  the  ordinary  silk  power  loom  5  a  saving  of  skilled  labor  5 
of  one-half  of  the  floor  room  required  for  the  gang  looms  ;  a  saving  by  the  small  opening 
of  the  shed,  and  the  short  beat  of  the  lay  or  baton,  of  much  straining  and  chafing  of  the 
warps  5  one  girl  can  operate  I'lx  or  eight  of  these  looms  on  sashes  or  ribbons,  doing  the 
work  of  three  or  four  gang  looms  ;  orders,  large  or  small,  can  be  quickly  executed,  as  being 
a  single  loom,  the  weaver  can  tend  looms  containing  different  widths,  colors  and  designs  ; 
these  looms  are  constructed  of  iron  and  steel,  the  parts  are  interchangeable,  and  in  point  of 
workmanship  are  superior  in  durability  and  accuracy  to  any  looms  now  made. 

Address,  SAMUEL    CO  IT,  Agent, 

Ko.  14  Connecticut  Mutual  Building, 

HARTFORD,  COISTN.  j 


vi 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


ESTABLISHED,  1815. 


Vm.  E  Horstmann  &  Sons, 

Fifth  &  Cherry  Streets,  PHILADELPHIA. 


New  York,  4.10  Broadway. 

.    Paris,  38  Rue  Meslay. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Vll 


l^^V  SOLE  O 

n\d  Established  *3 


"Geo.  B.  Skinner's" 


MACHINE  TWIST 


CELEBRATED  FOR  ITS  UNIFORMITY  OF  SIZE, 
STRENGTH  AND  RELIABILITY. 


Also  Manufacturers  of 


Tram,  Organzine,  Fringe  Silk 
and  Sewings. 


(  59  WALKER  STREET, 

Store  \ 

NEW  YORK. 


(  YONKERS, 
Factory  J 

{  Westchester  Co.,  N.  Y. 


viii 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


DANFORTH 

Locomotive  and  Machine  Company, 

PATERS  ON,  N.  J. 

John  Cooke,  Pres.  J.  T.  Blauvelt,  F.  Pres. 

James  Cooke,  Supt.  Wm.  Berdan,  Secy.  6?  Trea. 


SILK  SPINNING  FRAME. 


H.  A.  ALLEN,  Agent, 
52  WALL  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


IX 


¥M.  PICKHARDT  &  KUTTROFF, 

BADISCHE  ANILIN  &  SODA  FABRIK,  Special  Partner. 

IMPORTEKS  OF 

JlJsriLIJ^J]]  JJTJ]]S, 

Artificial  Alizarine  (patented),  Cudbear,  Archill,  Picric  Acid,  Extract  and  Carmine  of  In- 
digo, Extract  of  Safflower,  French  Extracts  of  Sumac  and  Dye  Woods,  Sicily, 
Sumac,  Superior  KK.  Ultramarine  Blues,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 

98  Liberty  Street,  New  York. 

Branch  Offices  : 

43  Kilby  St.,  Boston,  39  N.  Front  St.,  Phila. 

GOLD  MEDAL  GROS  GRAIN 

C.  P.  IMPERIAL. 

H.  FUNKE, 

MANUFACTURER  OF 

Silk  Ribbons. 


SALESROOM, 

343  Canal  Street,  New  York. 


Factory,  COLLEGE  POINT,  L.  L 


JNO.  DUNLOP. 

Manufacturer  of 

Sewing  Silk,  Machine  Twist, 

Tailors'  Twist,  Saddlers'  Silk, 

51  LEONARD  ST.,  NEW  YORK. 


UNION  SILK  WORKS,  PATERSON,  NEW  JERSEY. 


X 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


OF 

Organzine,  Tram,  Sewing 

AND 

Fringe  Silks. 


BLACKS, 

PURE  DYE,   OR  WEIGHTED, 

A  SPECIALTY. 


Dye  Works  at 

PATERSON, 

NEW  JERSEY. 


COMTICILLI  mm  IDDLLS 

OF  THE 


NONOTUCK  SILK  CO. 


OVEB. 


Moeotmck  Silk  C©.^. 

FiL'OKElCE,  MASS. 

MANUFACTORY  ESTABLISHED  1838. 


OTigiual  Manufacturers  and  in- 
troducers of  ''MACHINE  twist;' 
ivhich  was  first  sold  to  I.  M.  Singer ^  in 
February,  1852. 

Also  proprietors  of  the  celebrated 
' '  COR  TICELLI and  * ^vaVO TUCK 
brands  of  Sewing  Silk  and  Twist, 
ivhich  for  uniformity  in  size  and 
strength  of  thread,  as  well  as  for  bril- 
liancy of  color,  have  been  awarded 

both  at  State,  JYational  and  Inter- 
national Exhibitions,  during  the  past 
ten  years. 


2f3f^         /^"^"^  <{/   Sales- Rooi/is  sec    opposite   pa^^e  of 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


xiii 


NoTTiNaHAM  Lace  Works, 


PARK  AVENUE  AND  HALL  STREET, 

BROOKLYN  N.  Y. 
^.       J'^JVj\^JJVaS,  Froj>-rUtor. 
Office  &  Salesroom,  4.28  Broome  St.,  N. 

Manufacturers  of 

AMERICAN  GUIPURE,  THREAD,  BLONDE,  SPANISH   &  BRUSSELS 
LACES  ;    ALSO,  CACHEMIRE   AND    MILLINERY  LACES, 
SPOT  NET,  SILK    GRENADINE  VEILINGS, 
PURLINGS,  HAIR  NETS,  &C. 

Lace  Ties,  Scarfs,  and  Scarfings, 

In  all  desirable  styles  and  colors,  a  specialty. 

We  are  the  only  manufacturers  of  this  class  of  goods  in  America,  and  have  every  facility 
for  producing  the  best  and  most  fashionable  laces — all  of  which  are  made  of  pure  silk. 
Our  machinery  is  from  the  most  celebrated  makers  in  England,  and  the  designers, 
draughtsmen  and  artisans  whom  we  have  induced  to  come  from  England  and  France, 
have  had  large  experience,  and  are  all  skilled  in  their  several  branches.  Our  silks  are 
dyed  on  our  own  premises  by  competent  dyers,  and  we  can  soon  produce  any  new  shades 
that  may  be  desired.  We  offer  our  goods  to  the  Wholesale  Trade  at  prices  lower  than 
same  quality  of  goods  are  offered  by  the  Importers.  As  we  have  a  great  variety  of  lace 
machinery,  we  are  prepared  to  make  to  order  any  desirable  styles  that  may  be  wanted. 

For  the  Fall  and  Winter  season,  we  manufacture  also  fashionable  styles  of  Nubias  and 
Scarfs  from  Shetland  and  other  wool  yarns. 

Our  goods  are  warranted  in  every  respect.  Price  List  and  Samples  will  be  forwarded 
when  desired.  Address, 

A.  G.  JENNINGS, 

Proprietor. 


xiv 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


S.E.&F.Hansell, 

MANUFACTURERS  OF 


Opliolslerf  Tfiniminjs 

AND 

Oiess  Ttimmiap 

OF 


EVERY  DESCRIPTION. 

No.  2  1  North  Fouith  St.,  Philadelphia. 


Factory,  9th  Street  and  Columbia  Avenue. 


MACHINISTS'  ASSOCIATION, 

Mill-Wrights  and  Manufacturers  of 

Cotton,  Silk,  Woolen,  Flax   and  Hemp 

MACHINERY, 

I  TO  9  BROADWAY,  PATERSON  N.  J. 

J.  Peel,  Sec'y,  E.  Morehouse. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA.  XV 


LOUIS  FRANKE.  HENRY  W.  STRUSS. 


LOUIS  PRAETKE, 

Manufacturer  of 

LADIES' 

J)ress  &  Qloak  X^immings, 

Braided  Cord, 

Tubular  Braid,  Fringes, 

MARABOUTS, 

CORDS  &  TASSELS,  Etc., 


FACTORY ; 

489  Broadway  &       Broome  Street, 

NEW  YORK. 

Also,  Mauufacturer  of 

ORGANZINE,  TRAM,  TWIST, 

Fringe  Silk,  Etc., 
FACTORY,  PATERSON,  NEW  JERSEY. 


OFFICE  &  SALESROOM : 

444  Broome  St.,  cor.  Broadway^ 

New  York. 


xvi 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


ESTABLISHED  1843. 


FRANKLIN  S.  HOVEY, 

Manufacturer  of  the 

  I 


HovAcci  Sewing  Silk, 


AND 


MACHINE  Twists, 

SALESROOMS, 

248  Chestnut  St.,  Philadelphia. 


THE 

STANNO  CHEMICAL  COMPANY, 

OFFICE  : 
37  Park  R0W5  New  York. 

Dyers',  Calico  Printers'  &  Color  Makers' 


CHEMICALS. 


SPECIALTY  : 

Preparations  of  Tin  and  Iron, 

AND 

CHEMICALS  FOR  SILK  DYERS, 

Factory  and  Laboratory^  Long  Lsland  City, 

CoNstJLTiNG  Chemist   Prof.  CHAS.  A,  SEELEY. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


xvii 


JOHN  D.  CUTTER  &  CO., 

No.  92  Church  Street, 
fods  at  Patcrsoo,  N.  J.  NEW  YORK. 


Manufacturers  of  the  Established 
-PURE  DYE  " 

SiiTER  &  Cutter  Spooi  ^m. 

Machine  Twist, 

Hand  Sewing-Silk,  Button-Hole  Twist, 
EMBROIDERY, 

In  BLACK  and  also  in  EVERY  SHADE  and  TINT  of  COLOR.    Put  up  on  Small 
Spools,  and  Especially  Designed  tor  the  First-CMass  Retail  Trade  and  Domestic 
U^e.      Sizes  Uniform,  Lengths  Exact,  Quality  Perfect. 

"  THE  BEST  IS  THE  CHEAEESTr 


THE  -SALTER  &  CUTTER"  SPOOL  SILK. 

SPECIALTIES: 

1st. — The  Choicest  Quality  of  Raw  Silk,  same  as  used  by  the  best  manufacturing  trade 
in  ladies'  shoes  and  fine  clothings  dyed  pure,  without  adulteration  or  luetghting  matter. 

2d. —  Uniform  Sizes  of  Machine  Twist  and  Sewing  Silk  numbered,  and  exactly  corres- 
ponding m  size  to  the  same  numbers  in  standard  six-cord  Spool  Cotton,  furnishing 
a  ready  and  infallible  test  of  size  and  guide  to  the  No.  of  machine  needle  required. 

3d. —  Colors  of  every  sliade  and  tint,  to  match  all  dress  and  millinery  goods,  and  in 
THREE  SIZES  of  thread  for  hand  and  machine  use,  viz:  No.  100,  adapted  for  fne 
work;  No.  70,  adapted  for  strong  work;  No.  16,  Button-Hole  Twist,  also  well 
adapted  for  hea-vy  work  or  Embroidery. 


N( 


o  120  100 


70  60 


40  30 


MACHINE 
TWIST. 


Size  same  as  those  of 
Standard  Six-Cord 
Spool  Cotton. 


4®=°  No.  100  and  70  in  Every  Shade  and  Color. 

No.  24      22     20     18     16      14      12       10  8 

TAILOR'S 

BUTTON-HOLE 


TWIST. 

Jg®*  No,  16  in  Every  Shade  and  Color, 

^SK  FOR  THIS  MAKE,  ''SALTER  &  CUTTERS 


I 


xviii 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  OF  AMERICA. 


Werner  Itschner.  Alfred  Streull 

Veener  Itschier  &  Co.. 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 


AND  IMPORTERS  OF 

ITALIAN  RAW  SILK. 

462  BROOME  STREET,  )  i  233  CHESTNUT  STREET. 

NEW  YORK.  j  I  PHILADELPHIA. 

J.  ATKINSON  &  COT, 

Manufacturers  of  all  descriptions  of 

Spools  &  Bobbins, 

For  Manufacturers  of 

COTTON,  SILK,  WOOLEN  AND  FLAX. 

SILK  SWIFTS,  RISERS  FOR  SOFT  SILKS, 
.     AND  SWIFT  STICKS 

Made  to  order  at  short  notice. 

95  &  97  River  Street, 

(Near  Main  Street  Bridge),  Paterson,  N.  J. 

REUBEN  RYLE  &  CO., 

manufacturers  of 

RIBBONS, 

CRESCENT,  COMMERCIAL,  STERLING  AND 
BLACK  KNIGHT  BRANDS. 

c  1  i  No.  19  MERCER  STREET, 

Salesrooms,  \  ^  YORK. 


t:*   ,        (  Crescent  Mills, 
Factory,  |  Paterson,  N.  J. 


J,  C.  GRAHAM, 

Manufactu'-er  of 

DRESS  AND  CLOAK  TRIMMINGS, 

Plain  Silk  Fringes,  Silk  Tassels,            ,         Silk  Gimps, 

Silk  Bullion  Fringes,  Parasol  Tassels,  Beaded  Trimmings, 

Worsted  Bullion  Fringes,  Programme  Tassels,  Neck  Ties, 

Cotton  Bullion  Fringes,  Silk  Bullion  Girdles,  Silk  Cords, 

Mohair  Bullion  Fringes,  Star  Braids,  Belt  Ribbons. 

Undertakers'  Trimmings,  Muff  and  Boa  Trimmings,  &c.,  &c. 
Nos.  525  &  527  CHERRY  STREET, 
Philadelphia. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA.  xix 

BRAINERD,  ARMSTRONG  &  CO., 


Manufacturers  of 

BUTTONHOLE 
TWIST, 

EMBROIDERY 
SILK. 


SALESROOMS  : 


469  Broadway,  N.T.    301  Market  St.,  Philadelphia.  13  German  St..  Baltimore,  Md. 


XX 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


NEW  ENGLAND 
Cotton  Manufacturers'  Association. 


BOARD  OF  GOVERNMENT. 
1876. 

President. 

E.  A.  STRAW,   Manchester,  N.  H. 


A.  D.  LOCKWOOD, 

Providence 


Vice-Presidents. 

EDWARD  ATKINSON, 
,  R.  I.  Boston,  Mass. 


Directors. 

Chas.  Nourse,  Woonsocket,  R.  I.     John  Kilburn,  Salem,  Mass. 
Thos.  J.  Borden,  Fall  River,  Mass.      A.  G.  Cumnock,  Lowell,  Mass. 
Wm.  p.  Haines,    Biddeford,  Me.      Cyrus  I.  Barker,  Lewiston,  Me. 


Secretary  and  Treasurer y 
AMBROSE  EASTMAN,  Boston,  Mass. 


Office  of  the  Association,  Room  53  Sears  Building,  Boston. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


XXI 


National  Association 


OF 


WOOL  MANUFACTURERS 

FOUNDED,  NOVEMBER  30,  1864. 


President. 

J.  Wiley  Edmands,  Boston,  Massachusetts. 

Vice-Presidents. 

.    .    .    New  York,  N.  Y.    |    Lucius  P.  Porter,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 
George  Roberts,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Treasurer.  I  Secretary. 

.    .    .    .    Boston,  Mass.    !    John  L.  Hayes,    .    .    .    Boston,  Mass. 

Directors. 


J.  W.  Stitt, 


Samuel  Fay, 


MAINE. 

H.  Burleigh,    .    .    South  Berwick. 
O.  Brown,  .     .    .  Dover. 
MA  SSA  CHU SETTS. 


E.  R.  MuDGE,  .    .  .  Boston. 

A.  C.  Russell,      .  .  Great  Barrington. 

Amory  Maynard,  ,  Maynard. 

C.  P.  Talbot,  .     .  ,  Billerica. 

Theodore  Pomeroy,  .  Pittsfifeld. 

Charles  L.  Harding,  Boston. 

James  A.  Smith,    .  Cherry  Valley. 

Erastus  B.  Bigelow,  .  Boston. 

NEW  YORK. 

Amsterdam, 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
D.  H.  Buffum,  .    .    .    Great  Falls. 
Daniel  Holden, 
Almon  Harris, 
John  Hall, 


Concord. 
Fisherville. 
East  Rochester. 
Manchester. 


Samuel  R.  Payson 

VERMONT. 
Solomon  Woodward,  .  Woodstock. 
Joseph  Sawyer,  (Bur- 
lington Woolen  Co.),    Winooski  Falls. 

RHODE  ISLAND. 
J.  T.  FisK,  ....  Pascoag. 


Stephen  Sanford,  . 
R.  H.  Thurman,  . 
Thomas  Fitzinger, 
Samuel  Harris, 
F.  H.  Farnham, 
Andrew  Root,  . 
H.  S.  Ranken,  . 


Troy. 
Waterloo. 
CatskiU. 
Troy. 
Cohoes. 
Troy. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 


R.  D.  Nesmith,    .  , 
George  Bullock,  . 
Charles  Spencer,  . 
Clement  H,  Smith  (of 
Wm.  Wood  &  Co.)  , 
George  P.  Evans,  . 

ILLINOIS. 
George  S.  Bowen,     .  Chicago. 


Johnstown. 
Johnstown, 
Germantown 

Philadelphia. 
Philadelphia. 


A.  L.  Sayles, 
Darius  Goff, 


Pascoag. 
Pawtucket, 


CONNECTICUT. 


Rockville. 
South  Coventry. 
Dayville. 
Rockville, 


Finance, 


J.  Wiley  Edmands, 

C.  FiTTON,      .     .  . 

J.  W.  Stitt,  .  .  . 
James  A.  Smith,  . 


George  Maxwell, 
George  W.  Capron, 
Sabin  L.  Sayles, 
C.  C.  Clark,    .  . 

NEW  JERSEY. 
William  Duncan,     .  Franklin. 
David  Oakes.    .    .    .  Bloomfield. 
Jonathan  Earle,  .    .    New  Brunswick. 
OHIO. 

Alton  Pope,     ,     .     .  Cleveland. 

MINNESOTA. 
Paris  Gibson,   .     .     .  Minneapolis. 

Standing  Committees. 

Raw  Material. 
J.  W.  Blake,    ....    Boston.  Massachusetts 
J.  J.  Robinson,     .    .    .    Rockville.  Conn. 

S,  J.  SOLMS,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

A.  Lawrence  Edmands,   Boston,  Mass. 


Boston,  Mass. 
Rockville,  Conn. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Cherry  Valley,  Mass 


Statistics. 


George  Wm.  Bond,    .    .  Boston,  Mass. 

J.  V.  Bakker,    ....  Pittsficld,  Mass. 

E  L.  Stimson,    ....  Cohoes,  N.  Y. 

lOHN  T.  Waring,  .    .    .  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 


Machinery. 

George  L.  Davis,    .    .    North  Andover,  Mass. 


C.  Fitton,  .  .  . 
J.  K.  Kilbourn,  . 
Thomas  F.  Eddy, 
Samuel  Harris,  . 
Robert  Middleton 


New  Britain,  Conn. 
New  Britain,  Cona. 
Fall  River,  Mass. 
CatskiU,  N.  Y. 
Utica,  N.  Y. 


Office,  ii  Pemberton  Square,  Boston  Mass. 


xxii  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 

Massachusetts  Mills 

Silk  Paper, 

BEO¥N  &  WHITE,  IN  ROLLS  &  SHEETS. 


SIZES  ON  HAND. 


18x24  — 

62 

Lbs. 

22  X  24  — 

90  Lbs. 

iSx  24  

75 

22  X  28  — 

80  " 

19  X  24  — 

70 

u 

22  X  28  — 

100  " 

20  X  22  — 

75 

ii 

24  X  30  — 

100  " 

20  X  24  

75 

24x36  — 

125  " 

24,  30  AND  36  INCH  ROLLS. 


OTHER  SIZES  AND  WEIGHTS  MADE  TO  ORDER. 

Butler  &  Johnson 

SOLE  AGENTS, 

44  Beekma7i  Street,  and  9  Spruce  Street^ 

New  York. 

F.  BUTLER,  A.  E.  JOHNSON. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Xxni 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  IRON  AND  STEEL  ASSO- 
CIATION FOR  1875. 

OFFICE  AT  265  SOUTH  FOURTH  STREET,  PHILADELPHIA. 


President. 

SAMUEL  J.   REEVES^   No.   410  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia. 

Vice-Presidents. 
JOSEPH  WHARTON,  Philadelphia. 
ABRAM  S.  HEWITT,  17  Burling  Slip,  New  York. 
S.  M.  FELTON.  216  South  Fourth  Street,  Philadelphia. 
JAMES  I.  BENNETT,  Pittsburgh. 
JAMES  PARK,  Jr.,  Pittsburgh. 

Secretary. 

JAMES  M.  SWANK,  265  South  Fourth  Street,  Philadelphia. 

Treasurer. 
CHARLES  WHEELER,  Philadelphia. 


Executive  Committee. 


S.  J.  Reeves,  410  Walnut  St.,  Philadelphia. 
A.  S.  Hewitt,  17  Burling  Slip,  New  York. 
C.  S.  Kauffman,  Columbia,  Penn. 
J,  B.  MooRHEAD,  230  S.  3d  St.,  Philadelphia. 
James  Park,  Jr.,  Pittsburgh,  Penn. 
Percival  Roberts,  265  S.  4th  St.,  Phila. 
jAMEb  I.  Bennett,  Pittsburgh,  Penn. 


Joseph  Wharton,  Philadelphia. 

Alfred  Hunt,  Bethlehem,  Penn. 

E.  Y.  TowNSEND,  218  S.  4th  St .  Phila, 

Charles  Wheeler,  Philadelphia. 

Chas.  Stewart  Wurts,  218  S.  4th  St.  Phila. 

A.  B.  Stone,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Edward  Harrison,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


Board  oj  Managers. 


J.  J.  Hagerman,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
A  S.  Hewitt,  17  Burling  Slip,  New  York. 
Samuel  Thomas,  Hokendauqua,  Penn. 
John  H.  Reed,  Boston,  Mass. 
James  Park,  Jr  ,  Pittsburgh,  Penn. 
Joseph  Kinsey,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
C.  S.  Kauftman,  Columbia,  Penn. 
Thomas  S.  Blair,  Pittsburgh,  Penn. 

A.  b.  Stone,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

B.  F.  Jones,  Pittsburgh,  Penn, 

J.  T.  Wilder,  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

Charles  Wheeler,  Philadelphia. 

A.  W.  Humpheys,  42  Pine  Street,  N.  Y. 

Horace  Abbott,  Baltimore,  Md. 

S.  J.  Reeves,  410  Walnut  St.,  Philadelphia. 


J.  M.  Lord,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Thomas  Beaver,  Danville,  Penn, 

E.  Y.  Townsend,2i8  S  4th  St.,  Philadelphia. 

James  I.  Bennett,  Pittsburgh,  Penn. 

Alfred  Hunt,  Bethlehem,  Penn. 

Percival  Roberts,    265  S.  4th  St.,  Phila. 

James  Rogers,  Essex,  N.  Y. 

Joseph  Wharton,  Philadelphia. 

Louis  Scofield,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

R.  E.  Blankenship,  Richmond,  Va. 

Geo.  D.  Hall,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Chester  Griswold,  Troy,  N.  Y. 

E.  B.  Pratt,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Abram  Patterson,  Port  Kennedy,  Penn. 

R.  C.  Hannah,  Chicago,  111. 


1 


xxiv 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


Hensel,  Colladay  &  Co., 

MANUFACTURERS 


Ladies'  Dress  &  Cloak  Trimmings, 

UNDERTAKERS'  FRINGES,  GIMPS,  &C., 
22  &  24  North  Fourth  Street,  Philadelphia. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


XXV 


HIGHEST   PRIZE,    SILVER    MEDAL,   AWARDED   AT   FRANKLIN   INSTITUTE   EXHIBITION    1 874. 


AUB,  HACKENBURG  &  CO., 

Maunfacturers  of 

MACHINE  AND  SEWING  SILKS, 

AND  BUTTON  HOLE  TWIST, 
Factory,  244,  246  &  248  N.  Fro?it  Street,  PJiiladclpJiia. 

Salesrooms, 

No.  20  North  3d  St.,  Cor.  German  &  Hanover  Sts., 

Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 

No.  69  WEST  THIRD  ST.,  CIN-CINNATI,  AND  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


Atlas  Works  AmiM  Dyes, 


MANUFACTURED  BY 


Messrs.  Brooke,  Simpson  &  Spiller, 
LONDON, 

Are  superior  to  any  other  manufacture,  and  used  more  extensively  by  the  silk  dyers  of 
Basle  and  Lyons. 

BEACH  &  CO.,  Hartford,  Conn., 

General  Agents  for  the  United  States,  and  importers  of  Cochineal,  Indigo  and  Dyeing 
Extracts.    Special  attention  to  fine  dyeing  drugs. 

Established  1838. 

J.  H.  HAYDEN  &  SON, 

(Late  HASKELL  &  HAYDEN), 

Silk  Manufacturers, 

WINDSOR  LOCKS,  Conn. 

Haskel  &  Hayden  Sewing  Silks  a  specialty.  Package  and  Quill  Sewing  Embroidery  and 
Shuttle  Silks,  Machine  and  Button  Hole  Twists,  &c. 

We  were  awarded  a  Gold  Medal  by  the  American  Institute,  1838,  "  For  the  best  Sew- 
ing Silk.''    Three  several  times  since  (and  only  three),  we  have  sent  our  goods  to  the  Fair 
of  the  American  Institute,  and  each  time  received  a  Medal  for  the  '  Best  Sewing  Silk." 
Location  of  Exhibit  at  Philadelphia,  Main  Building,  "H.,  76." 

HERMAN  SIMON, 

Manufacturer  of 

BLACK  &  COLORED  DRESS  SILKS, 

Factory,  Town  of  Union,  N.  J. 

Salesrooms  at 

E.  OELBERMANN  &  CO., 
62  and  64.   Worth  Street,  New  York. 


I 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IX  AMERICA. 


xxvii 


Holland  Mt'g  Co., 


MANUFACTURERS  OF  THH 


HOLLAND,  PRIME 

AND 

WILLIMANTIC  MILLS 


BRANDS  OF 


SEWING  SILK 


MACHINE  TWIST, 


PROCESS  PATENTED  APRIL  5,  1864. 


Mills  at  Willimantic,  Conn. 


Office  and  Salesroom, 

4:35   B  PL  O  ^  D  ATV^  Y 
New  York. 


xxviii 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


stephen  j.  cox, 

Designer  i  Engraver  §  ¥ood 

90  N  ASSAU  Street. 

New  York, 


Offices  on  First  Floor, 

Cor.  Fulton  Street. 


Offers  his  services  to  those  desiring  any  kind  of  Wood 
Engraving,  and  refers  to  the  illustrations  m  this  book  as 
samples  of  his  work. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


xxix 


fjHENEY  }{rOTHER^ 


Mills  at 

Hartford  &  South  Manchester, 

CONNECTICUT. 


ScLlesT^oorrxs  : 


477  Broome  Street, 

NEW  YORK. 


19  Franklin  Street, 

BOSTON. 


GROS  GRAIN  DRESS  SILKS  in  Black  and  Colors  of  all  Shades. 

FIGURED  AND  TWILLED  SILKS  for  the  Millinery  Trade. 

FLORENTINES  AND  MARCELINES,  Of  All  Colors,  Qualities, 
and  Widths,  for  the  use  of  Manufacturers  of  Parasols,  Hats, 
Caps,  and  Furs. 

SILK  HANDKERCHIEFS  AND  MUFFLERS,  Plain  or  with  Woven 
or  Printed  Borders. 

SILK  FLAGS  of  Various  Sizes,  from  7x10  to  30x48  inches.  Hemmed 
and  Boxed  in  Dozens  for  the  Trade. 

BONNET  RIBBONS,  Black  and  Colored,  of  All  Widths  and  Shades. 

SASH  AND  BELT  RIBBONS. 

MACHINE  TWIST  AND  SEWING  SILK. 

ORGANZINES,  TRAMS,  AND  FINE  PATENT  SPUN  SILKS, 
for  Silk  Mixture,  Cassimeres,  and  for  all  other  Fabrics  in  which 
Silk  is  used. 

Particular  Attention  Gi'ven  to  Orders  for  Special  Kinds  of  Silk    Used  by  Manufacturers. 

]^^^  Specimens  of  all  the  above-mentioned  Fabrics  and  Threads  can  be  seen  in 
Show-Case  of  CHENEY  BROTHERS,  in  the  American  Silk  Department  of  the 
Centennial  Exhibition  in  the  Main  Building. 


XXX 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


L.  D.  Brown  &  Son, 

MANUFACTURERS  OF  ALL  KINDS  OF 

Machine  Twist  and  Sewii&  Silk. 

ESTABLISHED  1850. 


This  Cut  represents  our  Spooling  and  Weighing  Apparatus,  patented  June  4,  1872,  by  the 
use  of  which  accurate  weight  for  each  and  every  spool  is  insured,  thereby- 
securing  uniformity  in  measurement.     (See  page  73.) 


Mills  at 

MIDDLETOWN, 
Conn. 


Trade  Marks : 

L.  D.  BROWN  &  SON, 

MiDDLETOWN  MiLLS, 

Paragon, 
Conn.  Valley. 


Salesrooms : 

439  BROADWAY, 
New  York. 


The  attention  of  manufacturers  is  called  to  our  PURE  DYE  brands  which  are  excelled  by 
none.    Samples  and  Price  List  sent  on  application. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


XXXI 


ESTABLISHED  1849. 

M.  Heminway  &  Sons 

Watertown,  Connecticut. 

Manufacturers  of 

SPOOL  SILK, 
Machine  Twist, 

Button-Hole  Twist, 

Saddlers'  Embroidery, 

TAILOR'S  SEWINGS,  &c. 

M.  HEMINWAY  &  SONS'  SUBLIME  QUALITY,  50  and  100 
yards,  which  has  become  so  popular  lor  general  family 
use,  is  guaranteed  in  length,  weight  and  quality. 

Also  Manufacture 

SEWING  &  MACHINE  TWIST, 

Unequaled  for 

CLOTHING  AND  SHOE  MANUFACTURERS. 

PRINCIPAL  SALESROOMS  : 

78  Reade,  and  99  Church  Streets, 
New  York. 


XXXll 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


ESTABLISHED  SEVENTY  YEARS, 

1806.  1876. 

Old  Premises,  New  Premises, 

6  DUTCH  STREET,  55  JOHN  STREET, 

New  York.  New  York. 


COLGATE  &  CO., 

Soap  Manufacturers, 

Whose  present  office  is  in  close  connection  with  the  Old  Stand,  where 
they  have  been  established  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century , 
still  continue  to  make  and  keep  constantly  on 
hand  a  supply  of  superior 

Pure  and  Neutral  Soaps 

For  Use  of 

Silk  Throwsters  and  Dyers, 

Also,  for  Mamifacturers  of 

WOOLENS,  COTTONS,  HAT  AND  STRAW  GOODS, 
WHIPS,  Etc.,  AND  CARD  AND 
PAPER  MAKERS. 


SAL  SODA, 

SUPERIOR  QUALITY,  of  their  oivn  make,  in  Casks,  Bbls.,  Etc, 

LAUNDRY  SOAPS 

Of  All  Qualities,  in  Great  Variety  of  Styles. 


PRICE  LISTS  Forwarded  on  application.  •  SAMPLES  will  be 
Sent  for  Inspection  and  Trial  CORRESPONDENCE  and  ORDERS 
respectfully  solicited. 

COLGATE  &  CO., 

Box  645,  NEW  YORK. 


THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA. 


xxxiii 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 

SILK  RIBBONS, 

PIECE  GOODS,  &c., 

456  Broome  Street, 
NEW  YORK. 

 :o:  

FACTORY,  PATERSON,  N.  J. 


^,  ,,  >f   


0  "^/%ffl5f%|i)|gs|SiN|?^^ 


